


Sparks

by maybege



Category: The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Cape Sharing, Cara is the best matchmaker, F/M, Fluff, Idiots in Love, Mentions of drugs, Yearning, soft!Din, thoughts of sexual assault (briefly)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-10
Updated: 2020-07-25
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:00:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 37,681
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24648370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maybege/pseuds/maybege
Summary: “Sparks were the stuff that young girls dreamed about at night when they thought of their princes to come and save them from their life on a boring planet. Sparks were not real, at least not most of the time, and they were certainly not real in your little respectable town in the middle of nowhere. It was only wishful thinking, nothing more.“After a mysterious Mandalorian saves you from a horrible blind date you are unable to forget him and the sparks he made you feel.
Relationships: The Mandalorian (The Mandalorian TV)/Reader
Comments: 112
Kudos: 403





	1. Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> You are on a blind date arranged by your sister as you search for the person that will make you feel sparks. Everything is going fine – until it isn’t. 
> 
> This is based on a prompt from a list by @whumpster-dumpster. As always, feedback, comments and reblogs are greatly appreciated, so don’t be shy!

The cantina was full of people this evening. The atmosphere was boisterous and with the band playing in full swing it was hard to hear one’s thoughts over the laughter and music in the building. But you did not mind. It reflected your inner excitement for tonight.

Your sister had arranged a blind date for you, promising you that it was the perfect fit and given how well she knew you, you had been looking forward to this evening for the last few days.

You had spent the entire afternoon sifting through your clothes, pondering your outfit choices until you had finally settled on a dress that was quite traditional for your town. It was long, the hem grazing the floor, shimmering golden in the colourful lights of the cantina. The neckline was a bit deeper than usual, giving an alluring view of your cleavage. You had even taken more care than usual with the styling of your hair and put on a little bit of that lipstick your sister had gifted you from Coruscant.

You wanted to make a good first impression on whomever your sister had deemed as the ‘perfect man for you’.

In your village, you were one of the very few people who had not yet married. It did not necessarily bother you. You just had not found the right person yet with whom you wanted to settle down. But family was valued over everything else in your community and as the families of your siblings seemed to grow, you felt more alone than ever.

It was not that you did not _want_ to get married. You really did. You wanted to find that special someone in your life, maybe have a few children too. But you had not met them yet and with the limited population size of your town and the small-sized planet you were living on, the chances were slim that you would ever meet them if you had not already.

You were still young, your mother tried to remind you every day, there was no need to rush things or to consider yourself a lonely spinster yet. After all, there were enough young men on the planet who were in a marriageable age and you were a pretty, young thing who would make an excellent mother one day.

Every time she told you this in an attempt to calm your anxieties, it had only made that feeling worse.

You were not _desperate_ to find a man and you were perfectly capable of being happy without one thank you very much. But that did not mean that you could simply ignore the way the whole town was slowly starting to look at you as if you were the local tragedy. The woman who so deserved to find a husband but _you know how it is, she just has not found the right man yet._

And yes, you were young but you were also ready to find your place in the world. And if a few blind dates could help you get a little closer to knowing what you wanted (or what you did not want) that could not hurt in the least.

So you made your way to the cantina, settling on one of the barstools and ordering a colourful non-alcoholic drink. Your date had not yet arrived but you were a bit too early anyway so you were not worried. Instead, you looked around and soaked up the general happy atmosphere of the cantina. A few people were dancing in front of the stage and there were a couple of more or less legal card games going on which you made sure to ignore.

Your town was generally very … _respectable_. Nothing shady was ever going on and if there was, the grandmothers would be the first to know and to judge the poor soul that had dared to make a mistake.

When the doors opened, you turned around to see if it might be your date but it was not. It was someone much more unusual.

It was a strange man, dressed completely in scratched up armour.

You furrowed your brows. Was that red duraplast? You had only ever seen Stormtroopers clad in armour but he clearly was not one of them. And did he carry a _rifle_ on his back? You were pretty sure you had never seen him before because if you had, you would have certainly remembered it. He was large and broad and imposing, drawing all of the available attention to his figure as he stomped through the room. The blaster by his hip made a rattling sound, jarring against the hushed conversations around him.

He looked like trouble and if there was one thing your town did not like, it was trouble.

The other patrons of the bar eyed him suspiciously as they very obviously wondered who he was and what he could possibly be doing here. It was clear that they were wary of him as well, which only strengthened your first impression of him. His footfalls were heavy in your ears and you tried your best to ignore him. He sat down one seat away from you, ordering a glass of some strongly spiced liquid that not even the local drunks dared to order. You wondered how he wanted to drink with his helmet on – would he take it off? Wouldn’t that be incredibly impractical for everyday purposes?

But before you could waste more of your time on that question, you heard your name being called behind you. With an excited smile, you turned around in your seat. Your date looked nice, blonde shaggy hair falling to his forehead and a polite if the somewhat nervous smile on his thin lips.

“It is nice to finally meet you,” he greeted you and sat down on the stool next to _him_.

He introduced himself as Xaral and as soon as he ordered a drink for himself, he started talking. The conversation was pleasant enough. You spoke about the weather and his job at the local quarry. It did not pay much but it was honest work in his opinion and you agreed. Generally speaking, the conversation was nice, there really was not anything you could pinpoint that you did not like about him.

Still, after minutes that felt like hours, Xaral’s voice just became a monotone background noise as your eyes focussed on the man behind him. The Mandalorian still had his full glass standing in front of him, not even making a show of drinking it. What he did make a show of, however, was looking at you. Because he was. His head was turned to the side, his visor facing you and you felt your skin warm where you thought his eyes might have lingered. You started to wonder where he came from and what he was doing in your tiny town. Why had you not seen him before at the market? Perhaps he would have been friendlier, more approachable there, maybe you would have even exchanged a few words?

After an hour or so of mostly your date talking, you excused yourself to freshen up. Xaral seemed to be taken aback by your sudden request but nodded with that polite smile of his. The feeling of strange eyes on your skin did not quite go away but you ignored it as best as you could although your cheeks _did_ get a bit redder.

When you locked yourself into the little stall you took a deep breath. You could not take another minute of him talking about his job. You just couldn’t. The longer this went on, the more you wanted to be at home, curled up in your bed or sitting at the table with your family.

You knew that life in your town was uneventful, yours wasn’t the most exciting either, but _maker_ did he have the talent to make everything sound so dull.

He was nice and polite and not ugly by any means. He was kind and seemed well-liked in the community, that was always a good sign. He would surely be reliable and perhaps a good father in the future. And your sister, one of the people you would trust with your life, had suggested him for you – surely that could only speak for him? He ticked off everything that was important for you. But then why were you not giddy with joy and excitement?

As you washed and dried your hands, a thought entered your head and refused to leave. _I wish there would have been a spark_ , it echoed around you and you tried your best to get rid of that stupid wish.

Sparks were the stuff that young girls dreamed about at night when they thought of their princes to come and save them from their life on a boring planet. Sparks were not real, at least not most of the time and they were certainly not real in your little respectable town in the middle of nowhere. It was only wishful thinking, nothing more.

You plastered a smile onto your face, determined to make the most of this date even if it did not necessarily warrant a second one. Xaral was waiting for you, a smile on his face as well. He seemed a bit more nervous now but perhaps it was because he had noticed that you were not the most attentive of listeners when he brought up the topic of his job at the quarry for the tenth time.

“I am sorry, there was a queue,” you lied and settled down at the bar again.

“If you would excuse me for a moment, gotta freshen up as well,” he said jokingly and, like you had a few minutes ago, made his way to the rooms at the back of the cantina. You breathed a silent sigh of relief as you watched him leave.

You went to take a sip of your cocktail, hoping for the alcohol to make the next half an hour more bearable as you would find an excuse to leave. In your mind, you were already telling your sister about the failed date, seeing her disappointed expression before you already. A sigh escaped your lips and your gaze drifted to the bar top under your hands.

The drink in your hands swirled in multiple colours and you were about to take a sip when suddenly the Mandalorian slid onto the stool that had only moments before been occupied by your date. You flinched at his movements, the duraplast reflecting some of the lights and the blaster glinting threateningly at his thigh. You should be afraid of his unexpected attention to you. Mandalorians were the war-faring people were they not? What did he want from you all of a sudden?

You knew the best thing to do would be to just ignore him. Ignore him and hope for the best. But no matter how you screamed at yourself to just keep your eyes trained on your drink, your gaze met his visor and you were done for. Even though you could not see his eyes nor his face, you felt him looking at you and it made you feel warm and cold at the same time. A shudder ran through you and your fingers tightened on the glass in your hand, trying to ground yourself.

“Hey,” his voice was deep and it sounded a bit more mechanic as if he was speaking through a vocoder. Did that come with the helmet? Did it distort his voice or did he sound soft and rough at the same time even without the barrier? Because you kind of liked the way it sounded as he gestured to your hand, “Don’t drink that. I think your date’s trying to drug you.”

You blinked at him a few times, quite stupidly probably. Was he really talking to you? Had he really said that your date had _drugged_ your drink? Xaral, the guy who seemed so shy and kind and incredibly boring had supposedly drugged your drink? You stared at him with an open mouth and wide eyes.

As if that had not overwhelmed you enough, your brain decided to flashback to the lectures about travellers from strange planets your mother had given you as a child. _Always steer clear of strangers, darling_ , she had warned you at a young age, _folks like them only ever want trouble_. The younger you had always dutifully nodded her head and held her mother’s hand as they crossed the street. But with the years you gained in life experience you had to recognize that your mother was not always right.

There were dozens of planets out there whose societies valued peace just as much as you did and whose citizens did not differ greatly from the ones living in your town. Sometimes, it was just fear speaking out of your parents’ mouths and now you needed to see if, in this case, they were right. After all, most people you had encountered from strange planets had been quite friendly.

But could the same be said for a Mandalorian?

In the end, you decided to side with your mother’s voice inside your head. Folks like him often _did_ only want trouble and a man who came in armed like that did not seem to have the best intentions from the get-go.

“Thank you for your concern,” you smiled politely, “But I don’t think he would be capable of such things.”

“I saw him put some powder into your drink,” he repeated stoically, “I am not sure what it was but I suspect it to be some sort of date drug. I told you so that you know, everything else is none of my business.”

With that, he returned to his own seat and his visor did not turn towards you again.

The first thing you felt was relief. Relief that this sudden confrontation was over and that your heart could start to beat normally again (when had it sped up in the first place, you wondered, probably when he started talking in that voice of his).

But no matter how relieved you felt, there was still this weird feeling in your chest at his warning, so you pushed the glass away from you and decided not to drink any of it. The worst that could happen was that you just wasted a few credits on a perfectly fine drink but if the Mandalorian was right – which he wasn’t – he had just spared you from a fate that was much worse than just losing a bit of money.

Soon after the little conversation between you and the bounty hunter, Xaral returned. He took his seat and you watched as his eyes immediately went to your still full glass, a frown on his lips. _It could be nothing_ , you tried to tell yourself, _maybe he was just wondering why I had pushed it away?_

The Mandalorian behind your date still had not moved. His glass was still full, sitting in front of him and you wondered what he was waiting for. Was he waiting for you?

Xaral said something again and ripped you out of your stupor. “What? Sorry, I was distracted there for a moment.”

“I was just suggesting maybe we could do some shots?” he repeated, a blush on his cheeks, “I heard they offer this new kind that’s supposed to be really good.”

The Mandalorian had not moved a muscle. Was that normal? And why could you not shake the feeling that he was listening to your conversation? Should you go and confront him about it? It was extremely rude to spy on other people’s dates, after all, wasn’t it?

“Sure,” you mumbled absentmindedly and gestured for the bartender to come and take your order.

Xaral got antsy next to you and you thought that he had noticed your distraction with the stranger next to him. You felt bad, truly. You were on a blind date arranged by your sister and he tried really hard to get you involved in the conversations, to get to know you and make you feel at ease. And here you were, obviously staring at a strange man, that was not your date and wondering about him instead of even listening to anything that Xaral had to say. You made your mind up to focus the remainder of your attention on him. This date might not be the best one and Xaral certainly didn’t really interest you but you were raised to be polite and well-mannered so the least you could do was to listen to him.

That was, until he opened his mouth, “Why don’t you drink your drink first? It would be a shame to ruin it.”

Your mouth suddenly became very dry. “Oh, I don’t really want it anymore,” you said and pushed the glass towards him, “You can have it if you’d like.”

His face went pale and dread settled in your stomach.

The stranger had been right.

“It is drugged, isn’t it?” your voice sounded monotone even to your ears as your blood pounded in your ears, “You drugged my drink.”

To be fair, no matter what he would have said at that moment, there was no way he could make that situation better. Xaral had absolutely failed your trust in every way, shape or form that was possible. You felt … violated somehow. Why had he wanted to drug you? What had he wanted to do with you?

But instead of apologizing, he managed to make it worse.

“Look, I need this to work, alright?” he sounded exasperated, “Of all the weird ones that are left you are the prettiest and you want to feel sparks or some bantha fodder, so … I wanted to make you feel sparks, what’s wrong with that?”

 _What’s_ wrong _with that?_ , you wanted to ask, _everything_ _is wrong with that. I am not weird and wanting to feel sparks is no kriffing bantha fodder. The only person wrong in all of this is you for assuming that I am yours to take._

But you did not say those things. You could not. It was like the connection between your brain and your mouth was somehow disturbed and instead of the eloquent monologue you wanted to confront him with, strangled words left your mouth.

“I can’t believe you tried to _drug_ me. Are you out of your kriffing mind?!”

“What are you doing?”

“I am leaving,” you stated calmly, already standing up from your seat, “This will not work and I do not want to waste both of our time.”

“No, wait!”

His hand was tight around your wrist and you froze. Like a loth cat in front of speeder lights, your kriffing _froze_. What were you supposed to do now? You just wanted to get away from here but for the love of every star on the sky you could not bring your body to move a single muscle.

Never in your life had you have to witness a physical confrontation. Your upbringing had been sheltered and that was good, or so you had thought until you now had to acknowledge that you had absolutely no idea how to get out of here without risking this man to hurt you.

Because if he had no qualms about drugging you, he sure as stars would have no qualms about hurting you.

“Don’t touch her.”

There was a presence behind your back and that was when you noticed that the stranger had disappeared from his seat behind Xaral. Now, he was standing – towering – behind you and glared at the man who still had your hand in a vice grip. You knew you should have been afraid. The stranger with weapons was standing right behind you, he could hurt you too if he wanted to. But all you could feel was immense relief that you were not alone with Xaral. That another person had noticed your dilemma and that he was obviously on your side.

The blonde man immediately let go of you, his face ashen with fear. You snatched your hand to your chest, gently rubbing the spot where he had gripped you. It still burned and you were sure there would be a bruise there tomorrow. But at least he looked like he would wet his pants from fear at any moment.

 _Serves him right_ , you thought.

Without another word, you turned around and made for the exit of the cantina. Some of the other guests had noticed the little scene that you had caused and were looking at you. Frustration grew in you. They all looked at you as if they had known what had happened – because _they did_. They had seen how Xaral had prevented your from leaving, had seen the precarious situation you had been in and yet they had done nothing. None of them had come to help you.

Only, ironically enough, the stranger that was supposed to bring trouble.

You heard Xaral’s pleas behind you, begging you not to tell your family, but you barely listened to them. You only wanted to get out. Out of this cantina, out of this dress and out of this kriffing nightmare that you seemed to be living in. Why did it have to be you? Why couldn’t it have just been a very boring date? Why couldn’t it have been a nice date? Why couldn’t there be a spark between the two of you?

There was a comforting presence behind your back – a hand, you noticed – and it was none other than the armoured man that led you outside into fresh air. He did not say anything, only following your hurried steps into the little alleyway behind the cantina and away from the public eye. He stood a few paces away, hands on his belt as he watched you.

You leant against a wall, taking deep breaths as the panic set in.

“Thank you,” you finally brought out, “For warning me. I do not want to imagine what would have happened if – if …”

Your voice faltered. Hundreds of images flashed through your mind at what exactly could have happened had you taken even one sip from that drink. Would you have ended up dead in a ditch somewhere? Would you have been awake and imprisoned in your own body as he took what he wanted?

“You are safe,” the man interrupted gently before curiously tilting his head to the side, “Why did you go out with that – with him in the first place?”

It was easy to see that this was an attempt to distract you from whatever panic attack you were bordering on. But you saw his metaphorical helping hand and grasped it for dear life, trying to fight your way back to a normal breathing pattern and a world in where your pulse did not compete with the speeder races on Tatooine.

“It was a blind date,” you tried to explain and he remained silent, “My sister set it up, you know, to see if it could work out between us,” you scoffed, “Obviously, it cannot.”

“What did he mean when he said you wanted to see sparks?”

“Oh, it’s a saying that if you meet someone and you feel sparks, then you and that person are destined to be together. Like, everything is easier with them,” a smile spread on your lips as you thought about how easy it would be if they were real but then you deflated because _look where it had gotten you_ , “But it’s not true of course. It’s just wishful thinking.”

The Mandalorian did not say anything. He just looked at you and the goosebumps that raised on your skin came not from fear but from something you could not yet pinpoint.

“Will – um, will I see you again?”

“No, I’m leaving in a few hours,” he replied shortly and shifted on his spot, “Just handed in the bounty before I went for a drink.”

You tried to hide your disappointment but when you mulled over his words in your head, something struck you. He had not touched his drink even once while you had been in the cantina. But if he was not there for the drink … Confused you looked at him, “Then why were you waiting the whole time?”

He did not answer your question. He had already turned around, cape fluttering behind him as he walked in the direction of the outskirts of town. But not without some parting words that burned themselves into your memory,

“Take care, mesh’la.”


	2. Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Din and Cara are searching for a bounty in a star system that Din has been to once before. When the child gets into trouble, it has an unlikely saviour …

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: slight violence towards/rough handling of the reader

They had landed on some random planet in a star system that he remembered all too well.

Cara did not know. He had not told her (why should he have?) but as the Razor Crest floated through space he spotted the all too familiar star and planet constellations. It was where he had met you, roughly a year ago.

Din had tried not to think about it too much. He had left you back at the cantina that night and he was sure that he would never see you again. There was no way he would ever have to return to that deserted planet and chances were slim that you would find your way somewhere else.

So why should he mention you anyway? It was not like he relived those moments in his dreams.

Ever since he had the child, his priorities had shifted significantly and he needed to focus on something else. Money and supplies, mostly, and any way to keep the little bundle as safe as possible.

Cara got them a job that was pretty easy, just catching a bounty and returning it to some minor drug lord on a neighbouring planet. He wondered why she just did not do it herself but he did not complain because he needed the money and she probably knew. That did not prevent from having some doubts about the mission, however.

“Look it’s as easy as it gets, alright?”, Cara sighed, “We just capture the bounty alive, deliver her to wherever it is that she needs to be taken and then we’re done.”

Din was still sceptical.

The little green baby cooed next to him as if knowing that he had thought about it. It was sitting on a little crate on its own, a small steaming cup on the table, and looking expectantly between him and Cara.

Din did not like the argument of easy money. There was never such a thing as easy money and usually Cara agreed with him in that regard. But she was right, too. They need the money and they needed it fast. Simple as that. And of all the missions that they could have taken on, this seemed like the least troublesome.

“Alright, we’ll do this your way but the child stays here.”

Cara did not argue. There seemed to be no one on this planet anyway, expect for their bounty of course. And, to be honest, the child would probably cause more trouble if they actually let him out of the ship and join them. So, the decision was made to leave him on the ship and just check out the bounty to make sure

They had not been provided a chaincode, which was unusual considering that in this time and age mostly everyone was able to provide a chaincode for bounties. They did have a physical description and the assurance of the employee that the bounty could be found on this planet. Cara had mostly been the one involved in researching the mission so he dutifully followed her through the dry landscape – mostly some hills and bushland, no trees anywhere.

They were lying low on a hill, having the perfect vantage point to see what was going on below. Cara had found out the location of the bounty and it seemed to be a house with several inhabitants. He had his rifle on the shoulder, watching through the scope to try and spot the bounty.

Beneath his helmet, he frowned. It could not be.

That night had almost been a year ago and it had taken place on a whole other planet. It was the same system, true, but from the looks of that town you did not really have the opportunity to travel anywhere, much less a different planet. And the house was standing in the middle of nowhere, there was no way people had easy access to travel here either.

But he remembered you, of course. He had tried to forget your smile for months after he had left, your voice still haunting him in his dreams no matter what he did. Only new jobs, more action and the distraction in form of a small green alien child had proven enough to push you to the back of his mind – until now.

Now you were standing in front of him, and it all came back with a crash.

You were standing in a barely fenced in garden, more like large grassed over area, hanging up some laundry. A basket was sitting next to you, loaded with piles of clothing.

There were lots of children around you, some playing with each other, some skipping ropes. Their laughter carried over to where they were hiding. They did not seem to be your children. No, they were from many different species, some older children, some still toddlers.

An elderly couple was working around the home as well, repairing some windows or something but he did not focus on them. No, he could hardly believe his eyes and his scope found its way back to you again and again.

You looked so happy.

“Spotted her,” Cara said next to him and gestured towards you, “Perfect fit for the description, let’s go get her.”

“Wait,” he said before he could think of anything else. His partner was already half standing as he stretched his arm out to stop her. _You_ were the bounty? _You_ were the one they had to capture? What could you have possibly done?

They both observed as you suddenly left the laundry basket standing and walked to the edge of the garden. A group of stormtroopers had gathered close by, obviously surrounding something – something small, green and with unbelievably large eyes and twitching ears.

“Shit!” Cara cursed next to him, “How’d he get out?”

The question should be when did he _not_ get out and when would they finally learn their lesson?

Frozen with inexplicable fear, he watched as you talked to the troopers. You seemed to be relaxed as you gathered up the child in your arm like you had done it a dozen times. How could you just talk to them? Why did they seem to know you? Din’s body was so tense he was sure he would have snapped and moment. He wanted to go down and fight each and every one of them until he got his child back. Because that was what he was. _His child._

To his surprise, they let you leave with the child. You settled the little on your hip and returned to the garden and the playing children as if everything was as it should be. The Imps got onto their bikes and left, soon disappearing into the hills.

Cara looked at him with the same confusion that he felt.

“We need to get him back.”

*

The sun was low in the sky when you could finally saw an end in sight of the large amounts of laundry you needed to tackle today. Oleria, Bernon and you rotated with the household chores and since the both of them had been busy fixing the roof, you had gladly taken on a little more of the chores today.

As you clipped one of the nightshifts of the children to the line, your eyes fell onto the strange child, sitting next to you on the ground. He was small and green with wrinkly skin. His incredibly large eyes watched your hands as they took the clothing from the basket and put it up on the line. He had fuzzy ears that seemed to have a life on their own and you wondered if that was how he communicated?

You had no idea where he had suddenly come from or if his parents were anywhere near. To be honest, it was really none of your business but when you had seen the stormtroopers you had just known you needed to do something. Your protective instinct had hackled up, seeing this tiny creature surrounded by soldier that had treated it like an enemy.

Lucky for you, the house you were living in a was a place known for homing lost children. With the many conflicts all over the galaxy, many were left orphans and those who had been found drifting in space were generally brought here. The troopers knew that and so it had been easy for you to convince them that this little one was just a new addition to an ever-growing number of children.

But he was not and you knew for a fact there were no settlement for miles around – so where had he come from?

The child itself did not seem to be concerned at all. He simply stuck by your side – plopping onto the ground next to your feet and not moving – and waited. For what, you could not tell. And he did not tell you either. He could not speak and from the looks of it you suspected it to be a toddler. Which only confused you more. It was not injured or malnourished, nothing in its demeanour indicated that it had spend a long time on its own. Then, how long could it have walked on its own?

Oleria and Bernon were preparing supper inside with the older children while the younger ones were washing. You could hear their laughter through the windows and had to suppress a smile. Living here in the middle of nowhere offered a new kind of happiness you had never experienced before – a simplicity you never wanted to miss from now on.

After that night a few months ago, you had told your family about what had transpired between you and Xaral. The news (or rather gossip) had spread like wildfire around the town and soon everyone had been looking at you with pity in their eyes. You hated it more than you had thought possible. How hypocritical of these people, to pity you now when most of them had refused to help you that night. Of course, that was not how they had perceived it and there was no way that you were able to escape their stares within the town – you had to leave.

When you had heard of an open position in an improvised orphanage, you had jumped at the chance. It was only on a neighbouring planet, not too far away by any standard, but seeing as how isolated everything was, it might as well have been a whole different system. You had had no experience with children other than occasionally looking after a younger sibling or a neighbour’s child but you were willing to learn and the couple, Oleria and Bernon, seemed to recognize that. They had welcomed you with kind smiles and open arms.

It was a difficult transition at first. They did not speak Basic but one of the local native languages that you had never learnt. Most children understood Basic but some came to the home with having only ever heard their mother tongue. Communicating with hands and feet was difficult and caused some very funny misunderstanding but as time went on, it got easier and easier and soon some of the children were more fluent in Basic and you were able to speak a few words with Oleria and Bernon.

The couple had some of the girls from the nearest village come over two or three times a week to help around the house but otherwise it was just you and your big happy family. For the few months which you had lived there, there had only been a few new additions to the little orphanage, all of which had brought their own stories and their own sets of experiences but none as peculiar as the child that was watching you hang up the laundry.

As it noticed your attention, its little head tilted to the side, chirping noises coming from its mouth.

“I really don’t know where you could’ve come from, little one,” you replied with a sigh.

The child made more chirping noises, full of conviction, as if explaining _exactly_ where it had come from and you laughed. Still chuckling, you picked him up to go inside, the others long since sitting at the table. You could hear their chatter and the clinking of the cutlery. Just when you turned, you spotted two dark figures on top of the hill walking towards you.

That was unusual, to say the least. They were no stormtroopers and the only people who ever came near your house were either those or the two girls that helped out occasionally. These two figures belonged to neither group. You sighed and furrowed your brows.

“Do you know them?”

The child only tilted its head questioningly, a three-fingered hand trying to grab a strand of your hair. You leant your head to the side, evading the touch but not taking your eyes off the newcomers.

The closer they came, the more threatening they seemed. One figure was completely clad in shining silver armour – a Mandalorian. Briefly, you thought about the Mandalorian that had saved you all those nights ago. But he had worn a different armour. You distinctly remembered the scratched up red durasteel. Whatever this one was wearing did not seem like it could be scratched up even if you wanted it to.

There was a woman next to him, who seemed no less dangerous than he was. She could crush your head without breaking a sweat you were sure. Both were armed to their teeth and it did not sit right with you. What if those were people were dangerous? Sometimes bounty hunters came around these parts and from the looks of it they were definitely in the search for something.

“Hi there,” the woman greeted you. Her voice sounded friendly, overly so, and the smile that she gave you did not seem trustworthy at all. Cautiously, you looked around to see if there was anything that you could use as a weapon, a piece of wood perhaps or one of Bernon’s tools he had forgotten to take inside? – but of course there was nothing of use to you. The two people did not move but you felt cornered all the same. There was a wide expanse of bushland behind the house, if you would be able to make it there with the child, perhaps you could shake them off? That seemed like a solid plan so you slowly went to take a few steps back but before you could even blink the dark-haired woman already drew a blaster and trained it on you.

You had never been in a situation where a weapon had been trained on you. Your heart was pumping in your chest and you felt as if your legs would give out under you at any moment. The child whimpered and you winced at how afraid he sounded. These people were obviously not here to play games, they were dangerous and they were going to hurt this innocent being in your arms.

But not if you could help it.

You took a deep breath and gathered the child closer to your chest.

“I won’t let you take him, he is just a child,” you raised your chin defiantly and looked the woman straight into her eyes, “He has a family somewhere, you can’t hurt him!”

The two hunters looked at you. Well, the woman was looking at you, the Mandalorian could have been looking anywhere under that helmet but, for some reason, you were sure that he was looking at you. His hand hovered over the blaster at his hip but he made no move to raise his weapon against you. He just … stood there.

It irritated you how calm he was. What were they waiting for? How would you be able to get out of this misery without getting yourself or the child injured?

When he started speaking, shivers went down your spine. His voice sounded faintly familiar and for a moment you wondered if it was _him_ , the strange man from that night. But it had been a year since you last heard his voice and with the helmet distorting the sound it was hard to tell if it was really him.

“He belongs to me.”

“No, he doesn’t.”

“He belongs with me,” he repeated with more insistence, “I am his caretaker.”

He took a step closer to you. The woman still had her blaster trained on you but her eyes were focussed on her partner. Something about him seemed unthreatening, his palms a little raised to show that he was no threat, so you let it happen, if only because you knew she would shoot you if you so much as moved a muscle.

As if to confirm the stranger’s words, the child in your arms stretched its tiny hands out towards the man. Clearly a _come and pick me up_ gesture and your confusion only grew. It began to babble on and on, probably trying to tell him all about his exciting day, with a smile on his little face.

You were so stunned you just let the man pick up the child. As soon as the child was safely in his arms, he took a few steps back from you, back to the woman next to him. The child slung its little arms around the hunter’s neck and it would have been an adorable sight had there not been a kriffing weapon pointed at your face.

“What? I – I don’t understand,” you looked between the three of them, “If you don’t want the child then who’s the bounty?”

“You are.”

Your heart stopped beating.

These two hunters, armed to their teeth, were here for _you_?!

“Me? You are searching for me?” you voice sounded pathetically small and you hoped that your honesty would seep through as well, “I never hurt anyone.”

With wide eyes you looked between the two of them, the child’s ears were drooping low and it blinked at you.

The Mandalorian shifted, “Don’t have to hurt anyone to be a bounty.”

The woman seemed perplexed by your confusion and lowered her blaster for a second. That was your chance and you ran with it. Literally.

You turned on your heel and sprinted out of the garden into the bushland behind the house. You could hear the confused calls of Oleria and the children as you passed the window but you did not stop. There was a shot but it missed and fear gripped your heart tighter.

You had never been the most active member in your family and now you cursed yourself for it. There were thumping footsteps behind you and you pressed on. You had done nothing but they did not seem like the kind of people to listen to your pleas. Your heart was pumping painfully and you felt some of the bushes scratching at your calves.

A heavy weight threw itself on to your back and you crashed face first onto the hard ground. Air was rushing out of your lungs as your body erupted in pain. There was a strangled cry out of your mouth but he ignored it. Some small part was glad that you had not been able to run further. The patch you had landed on was only covered in some dry grass, a few steps more into the bushland and your cheeks would not have been pressed to the earth but to the thorns of the bushes.

You felt a heavy weight on your back, as if someone was on top of you. And there was.

Cold armour jagged into your skin as the bounty hunter straddled your back. You could hardly breathe and when the panic set in, your limbs flailed about. Anything to try to buck him off but he would not budge. Instead, gloved hands grabbed your and pinned them above your head. He was not leaning his whole weight on top of you, your realized dimly somewhere. He weighed so much you would probably have not been able to breathe had he done that.

“I did not do anything,” you cried into the earth, “I promise.”

“I told you to _take care_ , not to fuck things up.”

Realisation struck you like lighting. You knew that voice, you knew those words. Your heart started to beat faster – not sure if you needed to be relived or not. How often had you dreamed about meeting him again by chance? How often had you yearned to have that feeling again – these sparks? But not like this.

You relaxed your body anyway. He might have been hunting you but it did not sound like he wanted to hurt you. At least that was what you hoped for.

“It’s you.”

Once he noticed your submission, he loosened his grip on your wrists. Resting his weight on his knees, the weight on your back lifted and you were able to turn around to face him and he allowed it. You were still lying under him, strong armoured thighs now caging your hips. For the first time, you were able to get a good look at him. The sun was reflecting of his helmet, almost blinding you and you blinked. It was a different armour, that was for sure, but you recognized the leather gloves that he wore and the way he held himself.

It really was him. The same man that had saved you all those months ago. Who had defended you and talked you down from a panic attack. The same man who had spent an entire evening in a bar and observed how your blind date had just deteriorated.

The same man who was now straddling you with the intent to capture you for something you had not done. You did not even know what you were accused of and you doubted that he would tell you. You thought of your family, then. Did they know what you were in trouble? Would you ever see them again? Would you ever be able to tell them what happened to you or would they be left to wonder where you had disappeared to? _Would you die?_

The thought of it brought fresh tears to your eyes and a new surge of determination. No matter who he had been to you, you needed to convince him of your innocence. But he did not seem to be interested in your words.

“I can bring you in warm or I can bring you in cold.”

“Please, I didn’t –“

He did not react. He stood up and grasped your upper arm before hauling you up to stand. It was painful and you were sure you would have bruises on your skin soon. He did not say anything as he manhandled your hands behind your back, cuffing your wrists together. The stretch was painful but you knew trying to get out of them would hurt you more. The Mandalorian started walking, setting a rough pace as he led your through the bushland back to where you had come from. You hung your head in shame and defeat, thick tears rolling down your cheeks.

You had idolized this man for so many days and nights, romanticized the idea of him in your dreams but in the end, you never acknowledged what he really was – a bounty hunter. And someone who did not care for the morals of his job.

Maybe your mother had been right after all, this man brought trouble with him.

*

Din felt horrible.

You were silent the whole track to the ship, refusing to talk to him. Not that he made any attempts at talking to you. But if he had, he knew he would have been met with stoic silence.

You did not resist his lead either. No, you were just following along, occasionally stumbling over some root or stone. His grip on your upper arm had loosened when he noticed you wincing, now just gently encasing it in his hand as he led you to the ship. You were the bounty but he did not want to hurt you. No matter how angry he was.

He had told you to take care.

He had not wanted to see you again – he always brought trouble for those who saw him, he had refused to risk that with you – and certainly not like this. What had you done getting yourself in trouble like this? What if you hadn’t been so lucky? What if it had been another, more violent, bounty hunter that had gotten you? Images of the other hunters of the guild flashed before him and he suppressed a growl. You were a pretty little thing, none of them would have been gentle with you.

Cara was waiting on the ship, the child in her arms. She was looking at him expectantly, eyebrows raised. He knew that she would have had questions. As soon as you had taken off running, he had practically thrown the child into her arms in order to pursue you. He knew you. And he needed to be the one to capture you as well. And if that had anything to do with the fact that Cara would not have been as gentle with you, then she did not need to know. No one needed to know.

Leading you up the ramp, he found himself wanting to comfort you. To say something, perhaps, to tell you that he was sorry.

But you remained silent and so did he.

It was the general policy of the guild to never know what a bounty was being hunted for and to never ask about it either. Din had never had any desire to do so. It was a simple life, really. He needed the money, he did the job and then he got the money. This case was not different from the others, you were no different from the others. At least that was what he was trying to tell himself.

But with every step you took on the ramp next to him, he felt worse and worse. Your shoulders were trembling and he swore he saw a few tears fall to the ground. Was it not ironic that he had been the one to save you not that long ago and now he was the one you needed saving from?

It made him feel uncomfortable, a heavy weight on his chest as he softly pushed you to the ground by the crates. You did not resist as he cuffed your hands to one of the pipes. His gloves lingered on your skin, marks already forming there. Marks the _he_ had caused. Sensing his hesitation, you finally looked up, teary eyes pleading with him.

“Please don’t do this,” you begged, probably one last effort, before getting to the point of no return, “I promise I never did anything to harm somebody. You … you _have_ to believe me.”

And he did. He did believe you. With those big eyes looking at him, he felt his resolve crumble. When he had first met you, you had not been the kind of person to get into trouble – he had literally prevented you from it. These few months in which he had not seen you would not have been enough to completely drag you into the underworld. For maker’s sake, he had found you taking care of children – what kind of criminal would do that?

“Come on, Mando, can’t delay this one,” Cara called from the cockpit, already firing up the engine, “This Xaral is an impatient little shit and I want to eat something other than dry rations!”

His hands on your cuffs froze.

Evidently, you had heard her too as you looked at him with even bigger eyes, confusion colouring your face. Xaral, he remembered that name, that – that kriffing idiot who had been your blind date. The one who had wanted to drug you. Who had _grabbed_ you. Slowly, a theory began to form in his head, something that filled him with dread and relief at the same time.

“What did you say?”

“I said we need to hurry up, unless you want to spend the night on here.”

“His name,” he demanded, a bit more harshly than was necessary, “What is his _name_!”

Cara hopped back down into the hold. The child’s head peeked down as well, noticing that something was up. Din’s hands were still on your wrists but you made no move away from him. Rather, you looked at him as if he had the answers to all of this.

He turned his head back to his friend who was now standing by the ladder. She had crossed her arms in front of her chest and eyed you suspiciously.

“Xaral is impatient,” Cara repeated slowly, “Some lowly drug lord a planet over.”

Immediately, he turned back to you, almost giving himself whiplash in the process. “Did you tell your family about what happened that night?”

“Of course, I did,” you retorted but then your face got pale, “Do you – Do you think that’s why he wants to have me?”

Your voice got small again and maker he never wanted to hear you talk like this again – like you were afraid. Without thinking about it, he released your wrist from the cuffs. The metal fell to the floor with a clang but there were more important things to attend to now. He saw you rubbing at the red skin around your wrists and felt a pang of regret. He had not wanted to hurt you.

There was still fear in your eyes and he knew then that under no circumstances would he deliver you to that kriffed up drug lord. Guild and easy money be damned, he could never justify to hand you out to Xaral apart from the fact that he simply did not want to. He did not want to put you in a position that would harm you.

He had told you to take care that meant that he would take care of you as well.

Cara had crossed her arms across her chest, leaning against the ladder. There was a look in her eyes as if to say _Really? Her?_

But he had made his decision now and there was no way you would be put into jeopardy because of him. And Cara would have to accept that, not that he expected her to refuse once he explained the situation to her.

“Stay here,” he instructed you, “Don’t move, we will be back in 5 minutes.”

You were still kneeling on the ground when he grabbed Cara and pulled her into the kitchen.

*

Minutes passed and you could still hear their hushed voices through the sealed door. The Mandalorian had told you to stay and pulled the woman into the kitchen. Probably to discuss their plan now that he knew it was Xaral who was after you. You had gotten the impression that he was reluctant to deliver you now and you hoped to the stars that you were right. Still, you did not know what to do. Could you stand up now?

Just as you were trying to get onto your feet (propping yourself up with your hands, your muscles aching), the door opened with a whoosh and the two bounty hunters emerged from the room. You let yourself fall back to the floor, heart hammering in your chest.

It was the Mandalorian who spoke first, “We are leaving tonight. Do you want to join us?”

You looked at him in confusion, “What?”

It took a while before his words had been completely registered by your brain. Surely, he could not be serious. First, they attempted to and succeeded in capturing you, dragging you back to this dark spaceship after you had basically saved their child from the stormtroopers and now he wanted you to join them? In hat?

The woman seemed to take pity on you and elaborated on the Mandalorian’s question, “This … Xaral guy has no chaincode on you. All we had to find you was your physical description and the fact that he _knew_ that you lived here. What Mando here,” she gestured over to the armoured man, “is trying to say is that we are offering you to come with us. Somewhere far away.”

“As … as your prisoner?”

Mando – that’s what she had called him but you doubted it was his real name – scoffed. “Not our prisoner,” he stepped closer to you, your gaze travelled up to his visor and you felt his stare again. How could one man exude so much everything? By the stars, he took your breath away just standing in front of you. “As part of the crew,” he corrected you gently, “The kid likes to get into trouble. I need someone to watch him when I am at work and he seems to have taken a liking to you.”

“I see,” you mumbled as you pondered over his words. You were grateful that they let you think for a moment without adding anything else. It probably would have just muddled your mind even more if they had tried to talk to you.

It was clear that you could not stay here. Xaral was out for blood and he knew where you would stay. There was of course the question how he knew that you lived here but the gossip in your town spread like wildfire so it probably had not been that hard. In all of this, the Mandalorian was offering you an escape.

Not as a prisoner, not as someone who stood in his debt but someone who had a job.

“I would need to say goodbye to them,” you decided, “Can I do that?”

“Of course,” he was quick at your feet, helping you up with a gentle hand and you felt a blush rise to your cheeks, “Anything you need.”

“Then I would very much like to join you,” you whispered. The Mandalorian just stood in front of you, holding your gaze. Was this one of these life altering decisions? You believed him wholeheartedly when he said he would do anything for you. Well, he had not said that exactly but it felt like it. And it made you feel safe.

Breaking the moment between the two of you, the dark-haired woman appeared by Mando’s side. “Good. My name’s Cara,” she clasped your shoulder, and grinned, a real one this time, “Welcome to the crew.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the positive feedback to the first part! The third part should come some time in the next few weeks as well. As always, feedback, comments and reblogs are greatly appreciated, so don’t be shy! Fell free to check out my tumblr @maybege


	3. Part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Glimpes into your new life on the Razor Crest and how a particular bounty hunter seems to grow very fond of you.
> 
> Warnings: none, pure fluff

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the positive feedback to the second part! There is a small part in this that was inspired by another post (link on my tumblr). As always, feedback, comments and reblogs are greatly appreciated, so let me know what you think!

“Yeah, I don’t know what they were thinking either.”

Unintelligible babbling.

“Now that’s just plain rude, little one.”

There was a giggle now, obviously from the child.

Din turned the corner to the little kitchenette and there you were.

You were sitting at the table with the child, feeding him his dinner. Said child was happily babbling to you, hands gesturing in the air as he was clearly pleased that you seemed to understand him. Din remained standing by the door and watched you for a moment, smiling beneath his helmet.

It had been a few weeks since you had joined the crew but it felt like you had lived with them for much longer.

You fit well into their little ragtag group and it had made him happier than he had anticipated. The child had taken an immediate liking to you, fondly remembering you from the time you had taken him from the big scary white soldiers.

Cara and you had formed a friendship that Din found hard to understand but pleasant to watch. You would play cards together sometimes or, when it was a slow day, more often than not he found you sitting next to Cara as she explained several different blasters in his armoury.

All in all, you had made all of their lives a lot easier and now without having to worry about the child, Cara and he were able to take on more work and gain more supplies. It took a pressure off his chest he had not perceived before – or perhaps he had and had just ignored for so long until it had been a part of his everyday life.

The child continued to gesture with its little hands, pulling him out of his thoughts. The wild motion threw around the crumbs of meat you had tried to feed him, landing with a splat on the tabletop. You did not seem too bothered.

“Butterflies, huh? What an interesting theory,” you hummed. You were patiently holding the bite of meat in your hand, your fingertips shining with grease until you were sure that he had finished his little commentary.

You were really good with him and Din loved it. He admired you not only for your easy smiles and constant happiness but also for your enduring patience. Not many people would have easily adapted to this way of life and yet here you were, acting as if you had never known anything else. He was not used to having someone around that was as optimistic as you were.

Still, he felt bad about suddenly ripping you out of your life. The fact remained that you had _not_ known this life forever. And it had not been exactly your choice – although his heart still skipped a beat whenever he remembered how you had agreed to travel with them that very same night. Cara had accompanied you to the house and he had stayed with the child. His conscience had weighed heavy on him, seeing the bruises on your skin and he would not have been able to face the family he would rip you from.

He did not know if you had reached out to your natural family yet to tell them about what had happened. But he had been too scared to ask, too. He did not want to risk to make you sad, to remind you of all that you had lost and least of all did he want to be the reason for your unhappiness. For whatever reason, he could not bear the thought.

Din knew that he was discovered when he saw your eyes twinkling at him. You turned to you his child with a big grin, “Look, your daddy’s joining us!”

The way his heart jumped at hearing you call him a father was dangerous and unhealthy. It felt like his breath was caught in his throat. But why did it surprise him so? You had embraced his relationship with the child without any questions, any hesitations and never had you made him feel like he was a pretender. Perhaps his surprise was not at your acceptance but at what it had started in his head? You called him daddy in that excited voice of his like he was family and it crossed his mind that he wanted that. He wanted a family.

He uncrossed his arms and joined you at the table, sitting down on the chair next to you. With a smile you pushed the bowl of meat towards him, enabling him to feed the child himself. His eyes fell to his leather gloves and then the bowl of greasy meat. Reluctantly, he took one glove off, baring his skin to the world. He could see how your eyes immediately shot to the offending limb, a blush on your cheeks, and then averted your gaze just as quick. He knew his skin was marred with scars, even the gloves could not protect him from everything, and he usually did not care about what anybody thought about his body. Not that many people got to see it anyway. But for some reason, he wanted you to like it. He wanted to show you that his hands, as rough looking as they were, could be gentle too. For you, they could be gentle.

The meat was as slippery as it looked but as soon as he lifted the piece of meat from the bowl the child’s eyes fixated on it with twinkling eyes. He held it out for him and his son immediately snatched the food up, satisfied smacks coming from his mouth. They continued like this for a while, the child dutifully waiting until he had fished out another piece of meat. When he was full, the child simply blinked at him and started babbling quickly, eyes switching back and forth between you and Din.

You were still sitting next to him, chin resting on a propped-up hand, and nodded solemnly. “I totally agree, what do you say, Mando?”

Din snorted at your playful seriousness. You turned to him, a knowing smirk on your lips.

Two sets of eyes looked at him then and he felt a little helpless.

“Absolutely,” he finally agreed and the child seemed to be very pleased with him, almost as much as you were. He felt warm at the realization that _this was fun_. Being playful, spending time with the child like this, he hadn’t had the chance to do that in a long time. Mostly because with you onboard he finally had the opportunity to earn the credits needed to sustain all of this. Now he wondered if that was something the little one might have been missing before.

But then he pushed that thought away because he had always given his best, still did, to make sure the child was safe and felt loved. There was no use in dwelling on things he could not change. The past was the past but he would make sure to indulge more in his babbling in the future.

You seemed to notice his hesitation. With furrowed brows you mustered him. “He likes playing with you,” you started slowly, almost cautiously, “I think he really likes to hear you talking. It inspires him to talk.”

He nodded, feeding the child a piece of meat as he looked at you. He knew that you were not criticizing him. There was this kind look in your eyes. No, you were not criticizing him, you were _encouraging_ him. Perhaps you had seen through him quicker than he, or anyone else for that matter, had expected. Words never came easy to him. He had not grown up to be a good talker, to convey his emotions verbally. He had been living with the helmet for so long and his occupation never warranted him to talk a lot either. He had been alone for a long time before the child came along, there had been no need to talk, or anyone to talk to.

But you were here now and so he made an effort to express what he was thinking. A gesture of goodwill, so to say. Or the fulfilment of a need that had been neglected for too long.

“I – I didn’t have much time … before,” he tried to explain, “But now – now I like talking to him too.”

You gazed at him with soft eyes and it made him feel – restless, yes restless was a good word for it.

It unnerved him how you seemed to know where his eyes were, catching his gaze almost every time you had turned your head to look at him. He knew it was impossible but still. It had been a long time since someone had actually looked him in the eyes. And now, just like every time it happened, his breath got caught in his throat and he shifted in his seat, the armour suddenly feeling too small to contain his body.

The moment took too long, apparently. At least, for the child. It grabbed into the bowl, trying to get a bite of the meat itself and with a squeal of joy, the greasy meat slipped from his hands. Din turned around, startled by the sudden noise when there was a _splatch_ and something liquid trailed down his visor from the outside – grease. The child had thrown the food at him.

It was silent.

Then, there came a quiet giggle from beside him, just a few hiccups that erupted into full-blown laughter the more time passed. He turned and looked at you. Tears were streaming down your cheeks, hands clutching at your stomach as you simply could not control yourself. You were gasping for breath now, still laughing loudly. The child looked curiously at you, tilting its head sideways as it did not understand what exactly it was that had been so funny.

Din found himself chuckling as well as he fished the piece of meat off his helmet and set it onto the table. He would need to discard it later. For now, his chest was rumbling with joy. After a few moments, you calmed down, your eyes rimmed red with tears of laughter and he grinned – not that you could see it.

“I should probably go and check that Cara won’t crash the ship,” you decided.

You stood up, still with a grin on your face and it made him feel soft and warm (when didn’t you?). He leant back in his chairs and watched as you left the room, a sway to your hips that suddenly made him feel _things_. Had you always walked like that? Of course, you had, you would not suddenly have changed the way you walked, right? Right? And if you had, there was no need for him to ponder over it.

The child’s eyes followed you as well, his little head moving to watch you until you ultimately leave his sight. Then he looked at him, a toothy grin on his wrinkly face as if to say _She’s great, right?_

“I know, kid,” he sighed, “Believe me, I know.”

*

They were on their way back to Nevarro now. Well, one stop for a minor mission and then they would be on their way back to collect the payment. It would the longest trip on their journey and despite already being in hyperspace for what felt like an eternity, it would still take a few days until you’d be back in an atmosphere.

And that was exactly what Din was nervous about.

The child tended to get a little stir-crazy. With how tiny it was, one would think that the ship was big enough for it to walk and play around and tire each day. That was wrong.

No, being able to roam freely only amped up his child’s activity tenfold and no one and nothing was safe from its wave of excitement. More than once had he walked into the kitchen to find the child surrounded by all the ration packs. All the cabinet doors had been flung open, food was strewn across the floor and the child had stood in the middle of it all, grinning like he was pleased with himself.

That time though, it had been particularly bad. No matter how adorable the child had looked, Din’s first thought had been dedicated to how long the rations needed to last before they’d make another stop. His throat had gotten dry, then, as dry as the powder strewn upon the floor.

Cara had laughed an honest belly laugh, holding herself up against the doorframe as she was gasping for air.

He remembered how you had rushed into the kitchen, feet avoiding the puddles of powdered rations and had picked him up. With the child settled on your hip, you had berated him gently, telling him how important the rations were and that he could not play with them.

It did things to him, seeing you raising his child. Good things. Seeing you raise a child – Stars, it should not have made you more attractive than he already thought you were.

The child’s ears had dropped when it had realized that you were displeased with him and turned its body away from you. It might have supernatural powers but it was also just a petulant toddler who did not like to be told what to do.

They had all helped to clean up the kitchen, glad to find that most rations were able to be salvaged and put back into the cabinets. On the next stop, Din would see to find some scrap metal to make locks for them, maybe that would keep the child from causing the chaos in the kitchen. When you had asked the child if it wanted to play with one of the stuffed animals you had improvised from some scrap fabric, the child turned its back to you, obviously attempting to ignore you.

Din had seen your face fall at the child’s rejection and he knew that he was needed now.

He had picked his kid up, gently, and spoken to him in Mando’a. About honour and family and respect. About how you clearly loved the little bundle, how you only wanted the best and how it was important to know that you were right and that he agreed with you. The supplies were important for all of them and he wanted to take care of him and you and Cara. Just because they were chiding him, it did not mean that they loved him any less.

The child had listened to him attentively, looking at him with big eyes. Din had barely noticed how you had walked up next to him, shoulders brushing, as you listened to him speak. The child looked from him to you and back again, his lower lip trembling. Din realized that this was the first time he had scolded the child this way. But the more he spoke the more his son seemed to understand.

Tentatively, he had reached out his tiny arms to you and Din had gladly transferred the child into your arms. The relieved look on your face spoke volumes. With a smile you had cradled the child closer to your chest, tiny face burying itself into your neck. _Thank you_ , you had mouthed at him and Din had only inclined his head towards you.

When the child was not destroying anything important, Din and Cara spent their days training in the hull of the Crest. Sometimes he caught you looking at him and he felt an odd swell of pride at the way your eyes lingered on him significantly longer than on Cara.

Days after that, the child was in one of its talkative phases.

Whoever said whatever, the child answered, babbling loudly and proudly to the amusement of all present. So, you had turned it into a game of questions, everyone would ask someone a question and the child was a part of it. His ears twitched happily as he babbled along to whatever question had been posed and you answered him as seriously as you could.

Din was sitting in the pilot’s seat, steering the ship towards the end of their hyperspace phase. You were sitting on the chair next to him, the child on your lap, facing you. Cara was standing by the door, casually leaning against the wall. It was her turn now, to ask a question and she thought for a moment.

“So, Mando,” she started, “what’s your favourite colour?”

Before he could even consider her question, the child chirped up, loud noises coming from its mouth as it jumped up and down on your thighs. You laughed, holding him by the sides to make sure he wouldn’t tumble over.

“It’s orange, you say?”

You sounded so giddy, so happy, beaming at Din as if he had been the one to make the joke. Stars, you were so pretty looking at him like that.

He never considered any colour his favourite. Through the visor, it was hard to discern colour as well, most times they were just faint memories of a time in his childhood when he had lived without his helmet. He was more familiar with greys, blacks and blues, the faded colours of his bunk when he was able to take off the helmet at night.

He knew that orange was the colour of the sunsets somewhere. A warm one, less aggressive than the red glow of blaster fire. But he was not sure if he was actually imagining the right colour. If that was what you and the child meant.

But seeing you like this, smiling at him, on the co-captain’s chair with his child in your arms, it made his heart melt. Somewhere behind him Cara suppressed a laugh, snorting into her fist at how dumbstruck he looked.

“It’s right,” he murmured, “Orange is my favourite colour.”

At least it was now.

*

“Here we go.”

You were in a cantina, celebrating the successful end of a mission that Cara and Mando had taken on during the way to Nevarro. You had forgotten the name of the planet you were on (or you had not asked, you were not sure) but you had remained with the child on the ship anyway until Cara had suggested you all go down to the local cantina.

The cantina was lively that evening as you had all settled at a table. Mando had ordered some food for the group, all except for him, and Cara had left to get you some drinks. The child was sitting on its own little chair, happily sipping on some bone broth. Its big eyes were blinking more slowly now and you knew it would not take long until the little one would get tired.

The food was good, it was some kind of roasted fruits and meat paired together with a thick sauce. It made your hands sticky. Cara grinned at you from across the table, her cheeks full. Mando just watched you eat in peace, casually looking around.

When you finished the food, you turned to the drinks Cara had gotten you. They were a little spiced and you enjoyed having your first outing in weeks. It was nice, sitting like this with friends and listening to Cara and Mando judge other people’s weapons from afar, arguing which blaster would be the most effective,

You were really excited.

On the far end of the cantina, there was a band playing. Much like at home, there was a small dance floor and some couples were swaying to the music. You watched them with a content smile. This was not the seedy kind of cantina Cara and Mando got their jobs at, no, this was a respectable place of community. It reminded you of home.

You were too distracted to notice the man that approached you. Only when he came to a halt right in front of you, did you look up and you could hear Cara’s and Mando’s conversation ending. He did not seem to be a threat, his hands burrowed in the pockets of his trousers, shoulders a little slouched.

“Hello,” the man greeted you, a polite smile on his face, “I was wondering if you would like to dance? With me?”

You had not expected his questions so you just stared at him at first, mouth open.

Then, you turned to your friend on the other side of the table. Cara nodded at you encouragingly, a grin on her face, face a little red from the drinks. Mando did not say anything. He seemed to be tense, actually, but you did not blame him. He had never been good with strangers and a man he did not know in a full cantina who suddenly stood so close to the child? That was bound to make him uncomfortable.

But then you also needed to answer the question. The man was still smiling at you, nodding towards your two friends in greeting. It had been ages since you had danced, really danced, with someone. Sure, some of your dates had taken you out dancing and you had always had a good time, but those were more than a year ago now. With Oleria and Bernon and the children you had danced around the campfire sometimes but that was just some silly moves to get the children moving and not a proper dance with a partner like he had asked you to.

Your eyes fell to the dancing floor where more couples had joined the dancing and the music was quite catchy too.

“Um … sure!”

You stood up with a smile. The child eyed you surprised but as you patted his head he turned back to his bone broth, still steaming from the cup. Cara winked at you teasingly and you rolled your eyes with a smile. She was a good friend. Mando did not say anything.

As soon as a new song started, your partner led you onto the dance floor and you joined the other cancers. He was a polite dancing partner and a good lead. You had fun twirling and spinning to the lively music. Not once did his hands stray where they shouldn’t even as you made some small talk. You could not help the grin on your face.

Over his shoulder, you had a good view of the table section of the cantina and you kept spotting Mando’s visor. His gaze was pinned on you, following your every move as the man spun you across the dance floor. You felt a blush rising to your cheeks. Why did this feel like a déjà vu of the first time you had met him?

After two or three dances had passed, you came to a stop. “Would you agree to another one?”

Your eyes strayed to Mando who was still staring at you and your heart gives a pull.

“Actually, I am quite tired”, you declined, “I would like to get back to my friends.”

He was visibly disappointed but nodded nonetheless, “Of course. Thank you for the dance.”

You made your way back to the table, still excited from the dances. You dropped into the booth next to the child, Cara and Mando sitting opposite of you. As soon as he spotted you, the child whined, stretching his arms out towards you. The glassy look in his eyes was indication enough and you frowned, “Are you sleepy already, little one?”

You picked him up and settled him on your lap. He was comfortably warm and you enjoyed the cuddling session he gave you. At least it was the content kind of tired and not the grumpy exhaustion he was sometimes prone to.

Cara rose from her seat, stretching her muscles. “I’m going to join that arm-wrestling over there,” she announced with a cocky grin, “Seems like some easy money to be made.”

With how big her biceps were, you did not doubt that she would come back to the ship with a hefty sum of credits. She was incredibly strong and every time you saw her and Mando fighting together you admired how she was able to just _do_ these things.

With that, she left you and Mando alone. Well, the child was there as well but it felt like you were alone. You could still feel his gaze on you and it did not seem to stop for the foreseeable future. A thousand scenarios ran through your head of why he kept staring at you. Did you have something on your face? Had you embarrassed yourself on the dance floor somehow? Was he – Could he be jealous?

The last thought was ridiculous and you dismissed it as soon as it entered your mind.

Luckily for you, the child decided to interrupt the silence with its usual blabbering. It was particularly excited now, reaching out to Mando across the table as if it was talking to him specifically. And it didn’t stop either. The more time passed the more restless the child became, hopping on your lap trying to get closer to him.

“I think he wants to show you something,” you concluded and Mando leant forward across the table. It was not enough for the child however as it started to whine, stretching his arms out to him. _So, this is the start of the grumpy exhaustion phase_ , you thought to yourself.

You lifted him over the table carefully and Mando took him from you, setting him down in his arms. Seeing the armoured man with the tiny child made you swoon. It moved something deep in your chest and why did it suddenly make him so attractive? _It is not suddenly_ , a voice echoed in your head, _you have always found him attractive_.

Stars, you needed another drink to distract you.

The child seemed to be happy for a few moments, looking up at its father, smiling and babbling. But before you could stand up and get yourself another drink to wash away the inappropriate feelings you had for the Mandalorian, big eyes turned to you. It took the child a moment to realize that yes, it was now in its father’s arms, but _you_ were still on the other side of the table. And, apparently, that would not do.

You watched as his lower lip started to tremble dangerously and before you or Mando could do anything, he started to cry. Not the little whimpers that would sometimes escape him during a nightmare, no, this was a real cry. Thick tears dropped down his cheeks and he wailed so loud that the closest patrons turned around to see where that noise came from.

Mando immediately started shushing him, bobbing him up and down in his arms, caressing the fuzzy ears. But that made the child only start to cry in earnest and nothing could stop him. More people were looking at you now and no matter how far off this planet was – attention was never good.

“What is going on?” you cooed at the little one, “What can we do to help, hm?”

Teary eyes blinked at you and then the child stretched out towards you and Mando sighed. His shoulders slumped in defeat. “I think he wants both of us, mesh’la.”

There was an edge to his voice you were not sure if he might be angry. You knew he did not like situations where the attention was on him or your group – there were still people out there searching for the child and they popped up in the most unexpected places.

You walked around the table to sit on the bench next to him. The child immediately gestured you closer, quiet now but his lips still trembling. You scooted closer until your side was pressed completely against Mando’s. You tried to remember a time where you had been this physically close but there was none (well, except when he had crashed you to the floor but that did not count). This was the first time you had ever been this close but you secretly wished that it would not be the last.

Mando shuffled the kid around until it was sitting on both your legs. His ears twitched up and he smiled.

You grinned, “He will be so spoiled when he grows up.”

Mando remained silent. You felt his eyes on you and averted your gaze from the child and up to his visor. You were so incredibly close now you could almost feel the coldness of his helmet. One of his arms was draped around the back of the bench and the heat of his skin seeped into your back. _It is just a coincidence_ , you tried to tell yourself, _he does not really want to touch me_.

So, you turned back to the child which was now gazing up at you both with a little smile. How lucky you were to have gained the little one’s trust and affection. How could one being be so kriffing adorable?

A gloved hand wandered from the bench behind you to your shoulder. His progress was slow and you realized it was because he wanted you to be able to stop him. As if he was only waiting for you to turn around and ask _what the kriff he_ was thinking. Instead, you drew even closer to him, sliding right into his side, your cheeks warm as you tried to gauge his reaction.

As soon as you pressed closer to him, his arm fully settled around your shoulders. It felt heavy but in a good way – like he was preventing you from rising up the air and into stars from how happy you felt.

“How was the dance?”

“Huh? Oh,” you cleared your throat, “It w-was good.”

The next time your eyes fell to the child, it was fast asleep, resting its little head against the Mandalorian’s side. Mando looked down too, then, and his helmet touched your forehead. You were not sure if it had been intentional but the longer he remained like that the surer you became that it meant something. You allowed yourself to succumb to the weariness in your bones and closed your eyes. Having the both of them close like this, there could have been a speeder race around you and you would not have noticed.

His thumb brushed on along your shoulder and it pulled you back into reality. “I should probably bring him back to the ship,” you thought aloud, a yawn also escaping your lips, “We have been playing hide and seek the entire day, he must be really tired out.”

You went to take the child out of his arms, carefully settling him in your arms to make sure he would not wake up. A roar from a few tables over told you that Cara had won a match and you grinned as you saw her victoriously pumping her first.

Mando followed your gaze. “I will join you,” he told you, “Cara has a winning streak and I don’t want to disturb her.”

You could not shake the feeling that maybe he wanted to spend some more time with you. But that was only wishful thinking, right? Just like the sparks, you were imagining that he actually felt something for you.

You left the cantina together, Mando stopping by Cara and informing her that you would be waiting on the ship. Outside it was dark already and only the lights from inside the houses lit the planted street. There were trees and bushes everywhere, the city looked like it had grown out of the rainforest that was surrounding it. You yawned again, trying to jostle the child and covering your mouth at the same time.

“Come on,” Mando chuckled, “I will take him.”

You could hear the grin in his voice and this uninhibited show of happiness made you giddy. He rested the child against his chest, the sight so adorable you could barely contain your smile. What was it about men and babies that made you soft? What was it about Mando and his baby that made your heart grow so big in your chest it almost hurt?

Another yawn broke free and you almost tumbled over a root.

In an unexpected move, Mando laid his arms around your shoulder, drawing you right into his side as you walked back to the ship. “Can’t risk you getting hurt,” he said.

Your heart skipped a bit and then started racing. _He_ had made that move. He _wanted_ you close. You rested your head on the space where is shoulder and arm joined, a comfortable height to keep walking and to observe the sleeping child wrapped in the blankets.

It occurred to you then, how you must look to strangers. How he was holding a bundle in one hand, close to his chest, a sleeping baby resting in it, and how he had his other arm draped around you. You must look like a family.

You felt like one too, at that moment, and you hoped that Mando felt the same way.

“If – If I’d had asked you,” he started, he sounded almost unsure, shy even, “Would you have danced with me as well?”

You beamed at the implication.

“Tell you what, Mando,” you whispered as to not wake the child. Your cheek was smushed against the beskar but you refused to part from him even if it meant that your words came out in a mumble. He tilted his head a little towards you, the hand on your arm warm and tense, “Next time when we’re celebrating a mission I’ll dance with you. No asking necessary.”

His thumb rubbed gently across your skin then, sending your heart flying into the starlit night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please note that this is the last part before my little hiatus until mid-July (check out my tumblr @maybege for the publish dates).


	4. Part 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When the Razor Crest crashlands, you are not only confronted with your feelings for a certain Mandalorian but you also get to ask him a question that has plagued you since you first met.
> 
> Warnings: crashlanding, otherwise none, fluffy fluff fluff

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As part of my 100 followers celebration over on tumblr, you get this part early (regular posting will resume after July 15)! Please enjoy the second-to-last part of this little series. As always, feedback, comments and reblogs are greatly appreciated, so don’t be shy!

“Get in the fucking seats – now!”

Why could nothing ever go the way he wanted it to?

In fact, why did everything always go the exact _opposite_ of how he wanted it to?

Din was convinced by now that the stars had cursed him. Surely, they must have. That evening in the cantina – _last night_ , his brain reminded him – had been too good to be true so the universe had to make sure that he would be grounded again. And what better way to ruin his mood than to have the Razor Crest give out underneath him?

He still did not know what exactly had gone wrong. He just knew that as you and Cara had joked around a little, his lips quirking up at how happy you had sounded, how you had smiled at him last night, the sirens had gone off.

Now the alarms were blaring in his ears and the cockpit was tinted in the red emergency lights that did nothing to calm anyone’s nerves. Cara had jumped next to him immediately, pushing and pulling levers and buttons to somehow gain back control of the Crest’s flight pattern. But the ship had other plans, the engine stuttering and the ship swaying back and forth gaining in speed through the vast nothingness of space.

Cara was cursing beside him, pressing buttons and muttering under her breath. “I don’t get what’s wrong. Kriffing stupid!”, she slammed the control panel in frustration.

Din knew that there was not much time left. That he had to get the situation back under control unless he wanted the flight back to Nevarro to have a very sudden and permanent end for all of you. He had to prevent the worst-case from happening.

The numbers blinking on the displays were flickering and what little he was able to read did not look promising. There really was not much time left.

As he switched the flight control to manual he turned around to face you. Your skin had lost its colour and you looked like you might get sick at any minute. He would not blame you if you did. The Crest was rocking from side to side like on an illegal Twi’lek joyride.

The child was cradled to your chest and you were holding his little head to your chest, trying to keep him steady in your lap. Your eyes were wide as your gaze locked onto his and his heart dropped into his stomach at the thought that something could happen to his child – to any of you, really.

The nav system showed a lonely dot a bit further away and he knew the decision he had to make.

“Brace for impact.”

“What?” both you and Cara’s voice echoed through the cockpit but he could not face either of you. It was risky but he had to do it.

“ _Brace for impact_ ,” he repeated and pulled the handles to the side, heading for the atmosphere. The Razor Crest bumped even more, Din involuntarily jumping up and down in the seat while grunting with the effort of holding the handles sharply to the left.

The entrance into the planet’s atmosphere was rough, to say the least. He could feel the ship heating up around them, the metal creaking dangerously and the roaring of the engine was so loud he could barely hear his own thoughts. But when the ship survived the heat, he knew that the biggest hurdle was defeated. The Razor Crest crashed onto the ground, slithering across the meadows and bushes, leaving a path of destruction in its wake.

But the ship did not collapse onto them and that was the most important thing.

When the ship came to a total standstill, everything was eerily quiet. With the noises of the crash gone, the silence seemed even more deafening. He could hear his breath echo within his helmet, blood pumping through his veins as he scrambled out of his seat.

Cara was already standing upright, checking something on the control panel. There really was nothing that would knock her out. She nodded to him, signalling that she was unharmed. Then she tilted her head towards you, motioning for him that something was up.

You were sitting in your chair, still bowed forwards, covering the child. Your whole body was trembling and he could see tiny fingers resting on your cheeks. His heart stopped beating, afraid that you might be hurt, that somehow his plan to protect you and the child had failed. He called your name, urgently, before stumbling his way over to you. When you did not react, he fell to his knees in front of you, touching your shoulder, “Are you alright?”

 _What a stupid question_ , he thought to himself as you looked up at him. Tears were streaming down your face and your teeth chattered. Shock, he realized quickly, you were in shock.

“I thought,” you gasped, “I thought we were going to die.”

The child was blinking at him with wide eyes but made no move towards him, simply resting its little hands on your chest now, in a tiny version of a hug. It only made you tremble harder.

“No one’s going to die,” he tried to reassure you, “You are safe with me.”

Gently he pulled at the buckles of your seat, unstrapping you so that they did not cut into your skin. You were full-on sobbing now, hot tears streaming down your face and your breath coming in shallow pants.

This was the first crash you must have ever experienced. The first moment where your life had truly been in danger and his heart ached for you. He still remembered his first near-death experience, how the fear had gripped his heart and made his bones feel all mushy. He wanted to protect you from it but instead, he was the reason you had to live through it in the first place.

Hastily he pulled you out of the chair and towards him on the ground. He sat down fully and drew you into his chest. Your face automatically buried into the crook of his neck, tears soaking the fabric of his undershirt. The child was still in your arms, ears drooping low as he looked at you and Din was able to wrap his arms around the both of you.

His back was towards Cara so he did not know what she was doing but, to be quite honest, he did not care. Cara knew what she was doing, she was capable, more capable than him more often than not, and she had been the one to know that you needed his support right now. You were the one thing that mattered most right now.

Slowly he started rocking you back and forth. He rested his helmet on your head, hoping that his voice sounded as soothing as he wanted – needed – it to be now. “You are safe,” he repeated, “you are alright. It was just a malfunction, we will get the ship running in no time.”

“I’m sorry,” you hiccupped between sobs, “I don’t even know why I am crying.”

“It’s the shock,” he explained calmly, his hands brushing up and down your back while the other cradled you and the child closer. He was not ready to let the both of you go yet. When he pressed his forehead to yours, his eyes closed beneath the helmet, although you could not see it. Taking a deep breath, he reassured himself that you were safe and that you were well.

When his eyes opened, the metal still pressed to your skin, he could see that your eyes were closed as well, a few tears hanging onto your lashes. Suddenly there was a coo from somewhere. The child, inspired by its two favourite people in the galaxy, squished his forehead where both of your heads were already touching, babbling excitedly.

You laughed through the tears as the child became part of the _keldabe_. His heart swelled with pride. His child, his _ad’ika_ , here in both of your arms made him feel things and he wished it could be like this more often.

You leaned your face into the crook of his neck, still sniffling a little but calmer than before. “It’s alright, mesh’la,” he murmured soothingly, “You’re safe.”

Someone cleared their throat and he turned his head slightly to spot Cara mustering him with an amused glint in her eyes. He knew she would tease him about it when they were alone later. How he had gotten soft for you, how his weak spot had grown from just one little alien baby to include you as well.

And she would be right, of course, and so he was prepared to take on her teasing if it meant holding you in his arms a little longer.

“Without wanting to interrupt your little family reunion,” his friend declared, “We have a ship to repair and I need your help, Mando.”

*

You were sitting outside the Razor Crest right under a tree, its colourful leaves throwing equally colourful shadows on the ground. The child was toddling around you, playing with a blue coloured leaf in its hands.

Cara and Mando had deposited you and the child out here, to make sure that the latter would not accidentally get caught up in the work of the ship. Because that was currently priority number one: the ship.

As soon as Cara had mentioned the repair of the ship, Mando had gently led you outside, not once breaking the contact between the two of you and you were so grateful for it. He had kept talking to you and the child in your arms, soothing you, “It’s alright, mesh’la, it will be alright. Cara and I will get started on the ship and you two stay here, alright?”

You had wanted to help them but Cara had waved you off. You knew she was right. You had no idea about either technology or mechanics and you would have been more of a burden than actual help. Thus, you were left watching them from a distance as they crawled around under the ship pointing out problems and discussing the solutions.

It was evident from how they held themselves that they at least partially knew what they were doing. They were a good team, good friends and good colleagues so at least their working together would not be the reason to keep you here. But – but what if the ship really _was_ damaged very badly? Would there be any way to fix this? Would you be stuck here?

You sighed, “Do you think we’ll ever get off this planet?”

The baby chirped in response, ripping out a bit of grass and letting fall back on to the ground. Big eyes blinked at the movement and then it went to repeat the same thing a few steps away. The apparent fascination with gravity was new to you but you would gladly take it over him having a breakdown.

Still, you felt bad that you could not be a bigger help in all of this.

Some hours later, the sun was lower in the sky, clearly making its descent towards the horizon. The air had grown warmer around you as you spotted Cara making her way over to you. Her forehead was sweaty and she wiped at it with the back of her hand.

“You alright?” she asked and sat down next to you.

“Yes, I – I just wish I could help more.”

“You’re helping just by calming the kid. Wouldn’t get an ounce of work done if it weren’t for you.”

“Still. I’m sorry about that back on the ship, the crying and all …” your voice faltered and you shrugged your shoulders.

“Let one thing be clear, that back there was a perfectly normal reaction,” she looked at you in earnest, a small smile on her face, “Mando and I – we’re fighters, we saw a lot worse than you ever will have to, and it should stay that way. You had a genuine fright and no one is even thinking about blaming you for anything. Besides,” she grinned, “I think Mando would fight anyone in your name who said otherwise.”

You blushed and averted her knowing eyes.

After a few minutes, half an hour or so, of conversation Cara returned to the Mandalorian and they continued to work. Hours passed and soon, Cara had disappeared into the ship for a nap and the child got fussy for his dinner.

Mando was still working and made no indication of stopping anytime soon.

You approached him cautiously. It was clear that he was fixated on whatever part he was fiddling with as he did not seem to notice you. “Won’t you come inside to eat something?” you asked. No answer.

He had definitely heard you though from the way his hands had just slightly paused on the screw before continuing whatever it was he was doing. So, you tried again, more earnest this time, “You need a break.”

He growled, “What I _need_ , is to get off this kriffing planet.”

“Mando –“

“I won’t have you stuck here in the cold just because I couldn’t fix it!” his voice was dripping with frustration and you knew him well enough to recognize the edge that exhaustion brought to his voice. He was exhausted and yet he still pushed himself further just because – because he didn’t want you to be cold?

“Mando, it’s fine.”

Gently you touched your hand to his on the side of the ship, stopping his movements. His helmet immediately snapped up to you and you wondered if you had offended him somehow, by being this close. He had not minded yesterday when he had asked you about dancing but perhaps that had been yesterday and today was different?

He did not move so you did not either.

“Cara is a taking a nap and it’s time to feed your child,” you explained softly, trying to coax him inside, “Come inside, rest for a while, eat something. The ship will be here when you come back, I can promise you that.”

He still held your hand as you led him inside but you tried not to get flustered. Surely, he had simply forgotten about it … Yes, he cared so little that he actually did not even notice that the two of you were touching, that was it.

Cara was sitting against one of the crates, head knocked back and deep breaths coming from her. You marvelled at her ability to get sleep whenever and wherever she needed to. That must come in handy in her line of work.

The child was already sitting on a little stool in the kitchen, tapping its little fingers against the tabletop. He knew that food was coming soon and as he spotted you entering the kitchen, his face lit up in anticipation.

As you went over to the cabinets, Mando remained standing in the middle of the room, seeming a bit clueless.

(It was funny how this was his ship and yet here you were, managing to make him feel like an intruder. Well, not an intruder exactly, he knew that you _wanted_ him here. He could tell it from the way you smiled at him when you rummaged for some of the pulverized rations. He just did not know how to interact with you now without making himself seem like a complete fool.)

“Heat is going to be out for a while,” he informed you and you hummed, trying to stir in the ration with a bit of water. The child eyed you suspiciously, scrunching up its nose at the evident lack of roasted meat in your hands.

“It’s getting colder, will you be alright?”, Mando continued, “Will you need anything? Some extra clothes? A cloak?”

You were wearing your standard pants and a flowy shirt. It was not exactly the thickest of fabrics and you did feel the cold a little but not too much. Not enough for the Mandalorian to worry about you. “It is fine,” you waved off, “Come sit down.”

The child was distracted as soon as its father sat down next to him, frantically starting to talk in his baby language. You heard Mando shift behind you in his seat – “You don’t say, buddy?” – and smiled at how adorable he was with his child.

You set down the steaming cup in front of the child, looking at him expectantly. Big dark eyes observe the cup and the brown swirling mass of something that was supposed to be soup but looked to be about as appetizing as mud. The child considered the food for a moment, looking back up at you and then back to the cup a few times, before it turned back to its father, dismissing the food in front of it.

Mando chuckled at the antics of his son, “Doesn’t look too tasty now, does it?”

You wanted to agree, very much so. But this was an unplanned pitstop and except for the rations, there was nothing there to eat. (Although you would give anything for a little bit of roasted frog right now, to be honest, so you could relate to the child’s fussing.)

The child babbled back at its father, agreeing as well and gesturing to the bowl. Mando picked him up gently and sat him down on his lap, “Now now, cyar’ika here made that just for you, we got to be grateful she takes such good care of you.”

You crossed your arms and propped your hip up against the counter, watching as the big bad bounty hunter slowly spooned some of the mashed food into his child’s mouth. The child’s lips smacked against each other, tasting the food and soon the corners of his mouth turned down followed by the wilting of his ears. It was clear that he was unhappy with the food but fighting through his distaste for yours and Mando’s sake. This was by far the most adorable sight you had ever seen and stars if it did not make your heart beat just the slightest bit faster. You could see Mando’s head turning a bit towards you and you smiled at him,

The child was not done fussing, however, and you listened as Mando spoke to him in his own language – Mando’a Cara had called it some time ago – and got the child to reluctantly swallow the soup. It might not be the tastiest but it was nutritious and who knew how much the little one might still grow?

When you were sure that Mando would get him to eat enough, you turned back to the countertop and started working on a second serving. It did not look much better than the first one but at least this time the person eating it would not be as fussy as the toddler.

Behind you, the child had eaten up most of the soup and was now steadfastly refusing anything more, no matter how much Mando tried to convince him. Once the food was finished, you handed Mando the little bowl of soup and motioned to the child, “We can go outside or –“

“It’s fine, I will eat it outside,” he interrupted you, standing up and taking the bowl with him. In the doorstep, he stopped for a second and turned around, “Thank you for this. For the food and … for getting me to take a break.”

*

After settling the little one down to sleep, you returned to the kitchenette, trying to clean up any messes you might have left when preparing the rations. The crash had thrown everything around in the cabinets and you made sure that none of the other packaged rations had been damaged.

Cara was still softly snoring in the cargo hold and you debated whether or not you would wake her so she could move over to your shared bunk. In the end, you decided to let her sleep there. If you woke her, perhaps she would be unable to fall back asleep so soon?

It was fully dark outside as you quietly moved down the ramp. While some planets seemed to have one or several moons, this planet did not have any. The only light source came from a little flashlight Mando had placed by the hole in the ship.

He was sitting on one of the crates taken from the cargo hold, investigating a broken metal piece in his hands. The helmet was on his head, the empty bowl of soup sitting beside him. This time, he heard your approach on the soft grass as you came to stand beside him.

“Thank you, again,” he mumbled.

Without saying a word, you sat down next to him, your leg touching his. The crate was by no means small but Mando was not a small man and when he wore his armour the metal plates on his thighs added a good few inches to his width. You did not mind the closeness (you rather liked it, to be honest, but he did not need to know that) and he did not seem to either.

A shiver ran down your arms when a breeze hit you and you crossed your arms. Mando looked up from the metal piece in his hands, noting your predicament, “You are cold.”

You wanted to protest at first, you really did. Yes, you were cold but it was not too bad. Yes, you were cold but you did not want to leave his side. Yes, you were cold, maybe he could warm you up? (You crossed the last one out of your mind quickly, a flush of embarrassment and want rising to your cheeks).

In a smooth movement, he had clipped off the cape from his armour and settled it around your shoulders. The fabric was soft and worn on the inside, smelling faintly like ammunition, oil and something distinctly _him_.

You smiled at him, perfectly happy with his scent and warmth surrounding you, “Thank you.”

You liked talking to him as much as not talking to him. Having him open up to you, slowly but surely, was exciting and something you treasured each day you got to live with your little ragtag group of a family, but the companionable silence with him spoke of trust. He trusted you enough to just let you sit there, let you be a part of his time. There were no awkward pauses, no fervent searches for a new topic of conversation when you could just sit with him and enjoy his presence.

More than once since you had joined them, had you wondered if perhaps it really _had_ been sparks that you had felt that first night with him. If this tingling feeling in your stomach and fingertips were not the nervousness you felt but your body telling you that _this was him_. The one. But the more you tried to think about it the more the answer seemed to elude you. It was frustrating, truly, and you had given up on thinking about sparks and settled with just thinking about him and how he made you feel.

Because he did make you feel things. Lots of them.

“Is it bad?” you nodded towards the hole in the ship where some machinery was sticking out. You knew that it was a stupid question, something that looked like _that_ could never be good. But Mando did not mock you – he never did, it occurred to you.

“There are a few parts that need replacing,” he explained, “Cara spotted a settlement not far from here, we should be able to get the parts there.”

You nodded your understanding and you both fell silent again. Mando shifted, his leg pressing more tightly against yours and you did not move – was this an intentional move? Did he want to be closer to you?

The metal piece was now forgotten on the ground as the bounty hunter turned to you, once again pinning you with his gaze, “You are good with him – the kid, I mean.”

“He’s a joy to be around,” you responded, pleased at his compliment, “And … thank you for offering me this life. I don’t know what I would’ve done without you and Cara.”

“Anytime, mesh’la, anytime.”

Another breeze came and you pulled the warm cape closer around you. Mando shifted – _again_ – and now his entire side was pressed tightly against you. His gloved hand was resting on his thigh, he just needed to spread out his little finger and then he would touch you. Your heart thrummed in your chest as you pushed your leg against his slightly, hoping that you sensed his intention right and that he would notice it.

He did not move and for a second you were afraid that you had made a fool of yourself and prepared to move away from him, perhaps find an excuse why you had so blatantly sought him out to touch you. His hand on your thigh stopped you.

Surprised you glanced down to see that he had not only touched his fingers to your leg like you thought he would have in typical modest Mando fashion but that he had splayed his entire hand across your thigh, the warmth of his fingers seeping through his gloves and your pants right into your skin. His thumb brushed the outside of your knee in small circles while his visor was stoically directed towards the ground.

It was this proximity that enabled you to gather your courage, “Why were you in the cantina that evening? I mean … why did you stay?”

The fingers on your skin hesitated for a moment. You wondered if he would answer you at all. He had not answered the first time you had asked him all those months ago why would he do it now?

“I … I saw you walking. You had this pretty dress on and you seemed so happy,” he trailed off, “I had a rough day and I – I wanted to see someone happy.”

You gasped at that. He had _seen_ you? He had seen you walk towards the cantina for your date, giddy with anticipation, and had decided to follow you because you had looked happy? For a moment you tried to imagine how horrible he must have felt that a stranger’s happiness would have been enough for him to feel better. “Mando …”

“You were happy, then,” his head turned towards you, the movement of his fingers picking up again, “You were practically beaming with it.”

_You were happy then._

The implications of his words were suddenly so clear to you and your heart cracked a little. _You were happy then and now you are not_ , was what he wanted to say. He was afraid that you were not happy as if that would even be possible.

“I’m happy now, too,” you said softly, heart beating faster with unspoken emotions, “I am really happy here.” _With you_ , you wanted to add but it remained unspoken. 

His eyes locked with yours for a moment and you heard him take a breath as if he was preparing himself to say something. Your body tensed up in anticipation, practically vibrating from excitement. Could you tell him now? Would he laugh at you when you confessed your feelings? What if he wanted to tell you too? If he liked you?

Abruptly he stood up, “Cara needs help.”

You looked up at him in surprise, trying to hide your disappointment. Cara had not called for him and both of you knew this. But you could not bring yourself to call him out on it. Maybe there was a reason that he wanted to leave this situation. Maybe he had not felt comfortable with you this close.

With a sigh, you pulled the cape closer around your shoulders and watched him leave.

Would you ever be able to tell him?

*

The next morning the ship was ready to launch again.

Cara and Mando had managed to fix whatever it was that had needed repairing. Your dark-haired friend seemed quite proud, ready to depart this unwanted pitstop as soon as possible. When you all entered the cockpit again, a shudder ran through you. Last time you had been here, you had almost died – or at least you had thought you would almost die – and it did not exactly feel comfortable being back in the same chair Mando had pried you from only yesterday.

When the engine started could not help but flinch. The child noticed, of course it did, and cooed at you in an attempt to soothe you. You smiled. You knew that Cara and Mando were competent in their flying and that they would get you to Nevarro safely.

The flight itself only lasted a few hours – five at most – and was spent in comfortable silence. The child was snoozing in your arms, Cara and Mando quietly talking about the hyperspace jumping point. The landing was smooth, despite the rough weather outside and you could see the edge of town just outside the window to the cockpit.

There was no way to describe the weather other than storming. The rain was hitting hard onto the shields, a constant pitter-patter echoing throughout the ship. When the ramp opened, the wind howled around your little group. The child in Cara’s arms whimpered as thunder rolled through the air, followed by a strike of lightning somewhere in the distance.

You huddled your travelling cloak closer around you hoping that it would do anything to stem off the abhorrent rain. Cara was walking a few steps in front of you, seemingly unbothered by the terrible weather drowning you in mere seconds. Another gust of wind sent a few raindrops flying into your face.

Form somewhere in the rain, Mando stepped closer to you, walking right next to you. Walking like that meant that the rain would hit him first and thus shield you at least a little. You felt like a drowning cat, smiling up at him but this gesture was just too sweet. The rain got stronger if that was even possible. How had the town seemed so close from the window but now it took half an eternity just to get halfway out the ship?

Without saying anything, Mando took his cape off. It was already soaking wet, a few raindrops falling off the hem. Then he raised his arms, holding the piece of fabric above the both of you to shield off some more of the rain. Your heart burst. You ducked closer to him, right under his arm. With the cape above you, it felt like you were in your own little bubble, shielded away from everyone else. Mando did not seem to mind either, minusculely slowing his steps, to make it more comfortable for you to keep up with him.

What both of you did not know – too busy yearning for each other – was that Cara grinning at the way you danced around each other. And she had the perfect plan to change that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come say hello over on my tumblr! @maybege


	5. Part 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sick of the two of you yearning for each other from afar, Cara decides to take matters into her own hands and give you and Mando a little … nudge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I said there would only be 5 parts. But guess what? I have absolutely no self control whatsoever when it comes to writing fluff for Din so there will be a part 6 as well. Please let me know what you think. As always feedback, comments and/or reblogs are greatly appreciated!
> 
> Warnings: sharing a bed, fluff, f e e l i n g s, suggestive dancing

You stayed on Nevarro for two days.

Cara and Mando delivered the bounties and you were happy when the _Razor Crest_ was finally rid of the carbonite slabs that contained some of the criminals. It was not like they scared you but their presence made you uncomfortable sometimes.

Mando even splurged on a stay at a hotel for the two nights – a luxury that was so rare even Cara had to grin. Each one of you had their own room, the child spending the night in Mando’s room and the days wherever he wanted to.

It was nice to not sleep in that tiny bunk for once but in a real bed with real blankets and pillows that felt so soft you swore that was what clouds must feel like. The child could not really leave the place, it was too dangerous with all the bounty hunters around. So, Cara had smuggled him into the hotel and you stayed with him for most of the time. You really did not mind because the room was extremely comfortable and had some nice amenities you took full advantage of. Like watching some of your favourite holofilms from your childhood, showing them to the child who seemed to like them as well.

During the day and for dinner, Mando brought you the best foods from the cantina and often even stayed with you when you were eating.

The awkwardness from the night before had been forgotten and been replaced by something else entirely. Affection, you wanted to call it, maybe even physical affection. The group spent the daylight hours often in your room, Cara and Mando disappearing and appearing in intervals.

You knew that Cara was searching for some long-lost friends, hoping that they might have crossed the space port here. Mando was always on the search for new missions, new bounties, new ways to earn some credits. You wished that he would take the chance to relax as well. Here in the hotel you were safe, at least that was what you suspected from Cara’s casual demeanour, and he needed the rest more than anyone else.

The Mandalorian started relaxing soon after your arrival and you relished in it. When you and the child were playing in your room, he would join you, sitting on the low chair in the corner and watch the both of you. When the child would climb into his lap, wanting him to play too, he would chuckle and join you. More often than not, it ended up with both of you lying on the ground, out of breath, while the child climbed atop your chests.

Sometimes you would feel Mando grasp your hand in these quiet moments, gloved thumbs brushing over your knuckles and knocking the air out of your lungs.

Once Cara had volunteered watching the child so you could explore the market too. Mando had given you a travelling cloak and told you to _stay close, mesh’la_. You had done as he had asked but still you felt his hand on your back, gently steering you through the crowds of people. He even bought a little stuffed animal when you mentioned offhandedly that it was something the child would enjoy. Not one to spend credits lightly you had watched as he went to the stall and had not even flinched at the horrendous price.

You did not know what to make of it. Mando was not usually the type to be physically affectionate, at least not with you. What had changed? Had your little talk, that hadn’t really been a talk at all, meant something for him as well even though he had blocked your attempt at getting closer? What if this was his way of showing you he cared about you too?

The two days passed without any other commotion. Other than your constant overthinking of what Mando was thinking of you, feeling for you, of course.

So, when your little group wandered back onto the Crest, new missions and supplies in tow, you expected the day to progress as usual.

Normally, you shared a bunk with Cara. It was a tight fit, sure, but it was better than one of you having to sleep on the floor. Also, she seemed to be used to sleep in tight spaces, being able to fall asleep anywhere and all that, and so you had never encountered any problems when it came to sharing a sleeping space with her.

Truth be told, the last two nights had spoiled you a little. Having your own full-sized bed to yourself was something that had last happened when you had still lived at home with your family and that was well over a year ago now.

Mando had been quick to type in some coordinates for the next destination and disappeared into his bunk, probably to catch up on some sleep. It was dark outside already and the hyperspace jump would take several hours at least, a good opportunity for all of you to calm down a little.

You had just finished settling the child into his crib when you prepared to go to bed yourself. But, surprisingly, it was Cara who prevented you from it. She sat on your bunk, clutching her stomach and groaning. Concern washed over you immediately, “Are you alright, Cara? What’s wrong?”

“I think I might have eaten something spoiled,” she grunted, a pained expression on her face, “I think it is better if I slept somewhere else, I don’t want to risk to pass it to you.”

Looking at her, you waved your hand, “Nonsense, I will sleep somewhere else for tonight, don’t you worry. Do you need anything else? A bacta pill or something?”

The dark-haired woman shook her head and hurried you out of the room, “No, you go ahead, I will be fine, I promise.”

You were a little confused by her urge to get you out of the room but you figured that she might just prefer to be alone when she was sick. Thankfully, you had already been wearing your pyjamas so you only needed to collect your blanket and pillow before diapering into the cargo hold.

The doors to your bunk room swished shut with an air of finality.

With a sigh you searched around for a place to sleep. There were lots of crates standing around and some of them were empty enough for you to be able to push them around. After some shifting and grunting and a lack of arm muscle on your side you had managed to push two crates together to create a little makeshift bed. You stemmed your hands into your hips and nodded to yourself, it would not be the most comfortable but it would be alright.

Carefully you laid out the blanket across the hard surface, deciding to use it as a mattress rather than a blanket. One night without one would not kill you.

Somewhere behind you, another set of door swished open and you spotted Mando. He was shirtless, wearing something akin to trackpants and his helmet and _he was shirtless_. You could hardly pull your eyes from what little you could see of his torso in the dark but that did not stop your mouth from suddenly becoming dry.

You knew, in theory, that Mando was a warrior. He was a bounty hunter and a Mandalorian, trained in combat and weapons. He had to be physically fit in order to pursue his profession. But that still did not prepare you for the sight of his bare torso, scars littering his tan skin everywhere and a slight trail of hair leading over his belly to the edge of his pants.

“What are you doing, mesh’la?” he asked, his voice sounded groggy, and you felt bad that you had woken him.

In an effort to appease him you quickly explained the predicament with Cara. “So, I will sleep here for tonight,” you concluded with a gesture towards your self-made bed. To be honest, you were a little proud of yourself for having done this all on your own. You might have been travelling with him and Cara for quite some time now but anything you did on your own still filled you with that pride you had sought out at home.

Mando stood still for a moment, his helmet tilted to the side as he considered your ‘bed’. “You will not sleep there,” he spoke calmly, “Take my bunk, I will sleep here.”

His words took a moment until they registered in your tired brain. “What? No!” you protested, “You need to be rested for the day tomorrow, you are needed in the cockpit. If I am tired I’ll just grab the child for a nap and –“

“You will not sleep on this – this _thing_ ,” he sounded determined, almost threatening, as he wildly gestured to your bed. Normally that would have been enough for you to just agree and let it be. You were not one for conflict, especially when it was about something so trivial as sleeping arrangements.

But you knew for a fact that Mando would not be able to sleep on that bed – he would not even be able to take off his helmet, how would he be able to get any rest at all? – and so, for once, you did not back down. You were too proud and too worried for him, “You won’t either!”

Mando was stunned by your sudden resistance and did not say anything, clearly taken aback. Your eyes fell to the open door of his bunk, his bed still visible. It was small, yes, tiny even, but – “We could share, you know?”

You had absolutely no idea where that courage had come from. Just the thought of sharing a bed, this tiny one at that, with him was intoxicating. What would your village have said at the image of you sharing a bed with that rugged bounty hunter?

Mando tensed up, growing very still and you became afraid that this was too forward, that you had offended him somehow. How stupid of you, to think that he would even want that. That he would want to share this tiny space with you. There was an intimacy that came with sleeping together and it was obvious that he did not want that intimacy with you (or was it?).

“Alright,” he acquiesced, “But it won’t be comfortable.”

That was the understatement of the year.

His room was basically just the bunk surrounded by four metals walls. The bed was slim and so you were both laying on your sides, facing each other. There was a wall with some panels digging into your back and the slabs of the bunk would form bruises on your arm, you were sure. You were lying chest to chest with Mando, you could the warmth of his skin through your pyjama top and your nose was almost touching his visor. The bunk had seemed bigger from the outside.

You shifted again, trying to relieve the pressure on your arm under you.

“You are uncomfortable,” Mando stated. You closed your eyes in embarrassment and nodded. This was the moment where he would leave you in the bunk and leave to sleep on the crates, you just knew it. And while you worried for his wellbeing the truth was you did not want that. You wanted to remain close to him, no matter how uncomfortable the bunk would get.

“Let me,” he murmured and his hands suddenly moved. You did not resist as he lifted you without any apparent effort. You could see the muscles in his arms straining in the dim light (Had he left the light on just for you? Did he always wear the helmet when he was sleeping?). He shifted so he was lying on his back and put you down on top of him. Your front was pressed against his and automatically your legs tangled between his.

With him lying on his back there was a little more space to the sides now and you felt like you could finally breathe freely again. Your cheek nestled on his chest and beneath your ears you could hear his heartbeat thrumming. He was so incredibly warm and you relished in the feeling of his skin against yours. You had never been this close to him before but you were also too tired to think about any more than ‘ _I want this all the time now_ ’.

Mando cleared his throat to get your attention, “Normally I put out the lights because of –“

“Because of the helmet,” you nodded against his chest, eyes already drooping from exhaustion, “You can do it. I don’t mind as long as you’re comfortable.”

Something switched off and suddenly you were cloaked in complete darkness. You could hear the hiss from the helmet shortly before you were lulled into a deep sleep.

*

When you woke up, it was still pitch dark. You could not even see the hand in front of you if you tried. During the night, both of you must have moved because you found yourself in a much more intimate position than before.

Your chest was pressed to his side now, your top leg hooked over his hip. You could feel his hands holding your leg there by your knee, drawing pattern on the skin. Your head was still resting on his chest but your face was turned into the crook of his neck. You could feel the tickle of facial hair on your nose and you smiled.

There was some shifting under you and you thought he might want to detangle himself from you. But you were still tired and you liked how close he was to you, how he was holding you to him, so you tightened your arms around him in protest –

He chuckled. The arm that was not holding your leg was wrapped around your shoulders and pulled you even more into his chest, thus cushioning you from the wall behind you. “Mesh’la, the day has started,” he whispered, “we need to get up.”

You pouted, “I don’t want to, you are warm.”

You were still half asleep or at least that was what you told yourself when your lips brushed his neck and pressed a kiss to the warm skin there. Only seconds later, did you register what you had actually done and your eyes flew open.

Mando beneath you had tensed but he did not push you away. There was a small sound in his chest that vibrated through the small bunk and it was probably the lack of sleep still on your mind and the general stupidity that made you do it again, pressing your lips to his jaw this time. There was hair that scratched against your lips but the way he inhaled sharply made it worth it.

In the twilight of your mind, it seemed natural to be this close to him, to smell him and when your nose brushed along his jaw to the spot just beneath his ear you could hear his breath catch in his throat.

His arm tightened around you further and you could feel his head turn towards yours. His nose touched yours, skin brushing against skin and you wished you could see him. See his eyes to know if you had crossed a line or if he had liked it as much as you did.

“Do it again, cyare,” he whispered, rough lips brushing against yours and now it was your turn to have your breath catch in your throat, heart furiously pumping in your chest, “please.”

By the stars, this was it. This was the moment you had been waiting for.

Slowly, you shuffled even closer to him, wanting this to be perfect. Your lips were already touching but it was less of a kiss and more of a – just a touch, really. His nose nudged against yours, teeth scraping along your lower lip you gasped.

A sudden pounding from the door let you flinch violently, curling in on him at the same time that he turned so he was above you, shielding from the whatever potential danger there was. You could hear his heavy breathing above you as he scrambled for the blaster in the dark.

“Get up, lovebirds!” it was Cara’s voice that sounded from outside, clearly amused, “The child is antsy and we’ve got some space to cover today.”

You blushed furiously, resisting the instinct to bury your head in Mando’s chest and hide from everyone. Cara knew that you had spent the night in Mando’s bunk and if her amused tone was anything to go by, she would not let this incident slide easily.

Above you, Mando growled – really _growled_ – “Coming!”

He sounded displeased and it made you giddy because it meant that he had been looking forward to kissing you as well. With a grunt his weight was lifted off you and you missed his body heat immediately.

You could hear the hiss of last night as he put his helmet back on. The light switched back on and the bunk was hued in dim lighting once again. You could see him now, still shirtless and his chest heaving with deep breaths. You swallowed as your eyes trailed over his body, over the spots you had just kissed and the ones you still wanted to kiss.

From outside, you could hear the child coo and Cara laugh and with a sigh you decided you to get up. Before you could crawl out of the tiny space, a bare hand grabbed yours. “We will continue this, yes?”

His voice sounded unsure but also … excited. Something you had not yet heard from the Mandalorian and it made your heart swell.

With a smile, you nodded.

*

It took you almost all day to arrive at the new destination. Cara and Mando had talked about the upcoming mission at length. Apparently, they were tracking a bounty that used to be a bounty hunter as well. It was not unusual for bounty hunters to become bounties themselves, Mando explained to you and you tried not to become too worried.

If it was so easy for the hunter to become the prey, what did that mean for your little group (for Mando specifically)? What if Greef Karga one day decided that you were no longer worth protecting? That he would turn against the child and thus against your whole group? Mando was talented but he would not be bale to fight off the entire guild when it came to it, right?

Cara, ever the mind-reader, had only laughed at your thoughtful face. “Do not worry her so much, Mando,” she had teased him, “She’s all pale already.”

“Am I worrying you, mesh’la?” Mando asked, stepping closer to you, completely ignoring Cara who only disappeared down the ladder with a grin, “What did I do? How can I make it better?”

“No, I just –“ you took a deep breath and rocked the child in your arms, large ears flopping about as it looked up at its father, “What if you are in danger?”

Mando chuckled and his hand landed on your hip, smoothing his thumb over the fabric of your shirt. Your heart skipped a beat at how casually he was just touching you now. “I promise,” he intoned, “That there is very little that could keep me from coming back to you.”

You blushed at that and averted your eyes to the floor. “Don’t tease me,” you mumbled, leaning into his touch, “I just worry.”

“Believe me, I am far from teasing,” Mando spoke and pulled you closer to him. The child was trapped between your two chests now and happily babbling along to whatever the two of you were saying. “You and the little one?” he whispered, “You are the reasons I keep coming back. Every time.”

You looked at him wide-eyed, hardly believing your ears when he spoke to you, “Really?”

Mando nodded, “Really.”

Slowly his helmet came towards you and you closed your eyes. Like that moment in the cantina, and after the crash, his forehead rested against yours. You had sometimes seen him do this with the child and although you did not quite know what it meant, you knew that it was special – that it was intimate. His hands on your hip wandered up to your waist, your back to the nape of your neck.

Gently he held you to him, “I don’t want you to worry, cyar’ika. If there is every anything – anything,” he emphasized, “that has you worried, I want you to come to me.”

You were still holding the child in your arms but you managed to lean into his touch just slightly, to show him that you had understood. “Cara wants you to join the mission,” he murmured into the silence and your eyes flew open.

“Me?” you echoed, a mixture of dread and excitement in your voice. Mando nodded, his shoulders tense and he was clearly not the most enthusiastic about his friend’s idea. You had never been part of a mission before, it never even had been an option. After all, your task had been to entertain the child so that Mando and Cara would be able to do all their work.

So, it was more than surprising that Cara, of all people, had suggested that you would join this endeavour.

Your confusion must have shown on your face because Mando stepped away from you with a sigh. “I will let her explain. But if you don’t want to …” he trailed off, “If you don’t want to, you don’t have to, understood? I will not force you to join a mission that you don’t feel safe doing.”

You smiled at his protectiveness and nodded. It was clear he was not a fan of the idea but you took it as a good sign that he left you the choice. “But if you do,” he murmured, “I will not leave your side for even one second – you will be the safest I can make you be.”

You almost scoffed at the idea of not feeling safe with him. When would he realize that all he ever did was make you feel safe? That from the very first moment the two of you had met, he had shown that he could and would keep you safe? “I’m always safe with you,” you replied smiling.

His words, his promises, they made you feel like you were flying through the stars yourself. After the almost kiss your whole body felt like it was on fire. Everything he did was more intense, more – just _more_. You wished that you could go back to this morning and just kiss him. For once in your life you just wanted to take the initiative, to be brave and just do what you dreamt of doing for weeks.

Mando made a sound of acknowledgment in the back of his throat and brushed his hand over the child’s ears. The little toddler chirped now that the attention was on him.

The three if you climbed down the ladder to find Cara already busying herself at the weapons locker. “You have asked her, I see,” she stated towards Mando who did not answer.

You shifted the child onto the other hip, “I – I just need to know what exactly it is that I would be doing. You know I am not exactly gifted with blasters or weapons …”

Cara chuckled and waved you off. “The bounty we are searching for is probably hiding in one of the popular nightclubs,” she explained, “We only need an extra pair of eyes to spot him, that is all.”

That did not sound too bad and you motioned for her to present whatever plan she had come up with. Cara would be the one to trail the upper level of the club while you and Mando were supposed to search through the ground level of the club that contained the dance floor. “It will be packed,” your friend warned you, “best if you stuck close to Mando there, in case there will be trouble.”

You nodded, still excited and set the child down. He toddled over to the metal ball that Mando had placed on a low crate for him to grab.

In the refresher, you started brushing your hair. The way Cara had explained the mission it would be easy – fun, even – and you could not wait to spend a little more time with Mando. You knew that it should not be a priority, that you should focus on the mission at hand, but the thought of exploring a nightclub together with Mando had thrown you off. It could almost be described as a date if it weren’t for the bounty.

Cara appeared behind you with a bundle of fabric in her hands. “It is a bounty hunter club, you will stick out wearing your clothes,” she said and handed you a bundle of clothes. You furrowed your brows when you noticed how little there was to the outfit but you trusted her and you knew she was right. It would not do any good if you gave away the whole operation by just waltzing in there with your normal day-to-day attire.

It was a dark dress made of some kind of velvet. The fabric was soft to the touch and you would have liked it if it had not been so tight. Tight and short. Frowning, you tugged at the hem, trying to get it a little more down your legs to no avail. You sighed in defeat and left the refresher.

Cara and Mando were busy packing up weapons while the child toddled around, excited with all the happening around him. When he spotted you, he wobbled over to you, stretching out his arms to be picked up and you smiled. “Come here,” you encouraged him and lifted him up into your arms.

“There you are!” Cara greeted you, a grin on her lips, “You look good. Believable, don’t you think Mando?”

Mando only hummed in acknowledgment, too busy cocking his rifle and you blushed. You knew that it was a little out of the way of what you usually wore but you would be lying if you said you didn’t hope that he would like the dress. Maybe showing a little more skin, something a little sexier, would bring you more touches of his?

A strange sound caught on his modulator – a cough? A choke? – and you saw that he had lifted his head to now look at you. “You – you look good,” he nodded, his visor fixed on your form, “It’s, ah, it’s a little – it’s very pretty.”

*

Cara had a 15-minute head start to the both of you. “To attract as little attention as possible,” she had argued as she had left the ship, leaving you and Mando alone. You had locked the child in his little pram, making sure that he had his new stuffie to cuddle with and the he knew that you would be back soon.

Mando’s hand was constantly on your waist or your back, holding you to him as you made the short walk to the club. On your way, you spotted a few couples that looked similar to you, bounty hunters who were in the company of well-dressed women and men and you tried to imitate them a little. You started swaying your hips like they did and clung just a little bit closer to Mando.

“What’re you doing?” he hissed through the modulator. Afraid that you did something wrong you went to move away from him but his hand gripped you, holding you to him, gently squeezing your flesh through the dress. “Didn’t say I didn’t like it, cyare,” he assured you quietly. His hand was heavy on your skin and you realized that he had liked it, you being so close to him.

“I want it to be realistic,” you mumbled with flaming cheeks and if you did not know any better you would have said that he chuckled beneath his helmet. But Mando was focussed on the mission and serious and he would not chuckled at the comment you made. Right?

There was a line in front of the club, each guest showing their guild badge or whatever it was that designated them as a member of the guild.

The bodyguards looked mean and you shuffled a little closer to Mando. This was really happening, you were really helping with a mission. As Mando flashed the thing and walked towards the entrance, you went to follow him. But a hand harshly grabbed your arm and yanked you back. You yelped in surprised (and a little bit of pain) and Mando whipped around, hand on his blaster.

The bouncer shrugged, “Guild members only.”

You wanted to argue that you had seen other guests enter the club that definitely weren’t guild members either but rather plus ones to some very rough looking bounty hunter – and you were one too, so what was the problem? But Mando seemed to have a different way to go about it.

“She belongs with me,” he growled, stepping between you and the bouncer.

“Guild members only,” the man repeated stoically.

In a flurry of movement, Mando had slammed the man against the wall, his hands grabbing him by the collar. “I said,” he spoke through gritted teeth, “ _she belongs with me_.”

No one argued when you followed him inside this time.

“Thanks, Mando,” you murmured, staying close to his side and trying to scan your surroundings. His arm came around to settle on your waist again, drawing you into him almost naturally. You were not sure if he was aware that he was doing it but you did not complain.

The nightclub was, as Cara had predicted, absolutely packed. Colourful lights were flickering everywhere and it was hard to really see anything. On the dancefloor, bodies were grinding against each other and even in the common areas it was hard to walk without brushing against at least three other patrons.

You tried to remember what the hologram had looked like when Cara had shown it to you.

Mando came to stand shortly before the bar, holding you to him as the sea of people around you moved relentlessly. You were looking around, feeling a little clueless. What exactly would you do now? Was there a certain procedure for this?

He stiffened.

“What is it?”

“Cara said we should dance to get the best vantage point, apparently she spotted the bounty on there somewhere,” he gestured towards the general direction of the dancefloor where the people stood so close together it was almost like a living wall.

You did not mind. The thought of dancing with Mando was intriguing to say the least. The half-darkness of the club and the loud music pounding in your ears gave you the bravery you had wished for and so you slowly pulled him closer to the dancing masses.

“Well, I promised to dance with you, didn’t I?” you tried to lighten the mood. You were too small, too unimposing, for the people to really move for you but with Mando right behind you, his back touching your chest, they parted for you like the sea.

“This is not how I planned on dancing with you,” he grumbled and thanks to the colourful lights he could not see how your whole body flushed at his words. He had thought about dancing with you? He had planned it? Maker, could this man be any more perfect?

You came to stop in a little spot in the middle of the dancefloor, a good vantage point to see anything suspicious, you assumed. But now came the difficult part: the dancing.

The music was very different from what you were used to. More bass, so strong it made your heart vibrate in your chest. There were bodies dancing close to each other everywhere, hands on skin. You could feel at least two people brushing against you as they were basically grinding with their dance partners and you blushed at the thought of doing that with Mando.

But what other option was there? You really could not risk sticking out like that.

Shyly you wrapped your arms around Mando’s neck, effectively bringing you flush to his front. His hands settled on your hips, tightening on the fabric of your dress. Your inhaled sharply as he started moving the both of you, swaying you from side to side.

It really was not something you did often, ever actually, dancing this close to a man and you had the feeling that Mando was not very experienced in this kind of dance either. But as you looked around to see what other patrons were doing you grew a little more comfortable. This was Mando. Mando liked you and you were safe with him.

One hand slithered down his neck to his chest as you swayed your hips a little more exaggeratedly. Mando grunted and one hand wandered lower on your hip, almost to your butt, as he pulled you closer. “Mesh’la,” he murmured into your ear, “I wish you could see how beautiful you are.”

You blushed and pressed your face into the crook of his neck. Forgotten was the bounty and the mission. As soon as your nose brushed the slither of skin on the underside of his jaw, there was only one thing on your mind.

“I really want to kiss you,” you confessed breathlessly, “I really do.”

The sound that came from him could only be described as a growl. His hands tightened on your hips and turned you around, your back to his chest once again, as he steered you through the masses of people. He hit a wall somewhere and suddenly you were in a completely empty hallway, the pounding music became a sudden background noise and you needed a moment to orient yourself.

But Mando was determined, apparently, and pulled you along a labyrinth of hallways until a door opened to what only could be described as a closet. You followed him into the small room, not really caring about anything as long as Mando was there, and were engulfed by absolute darkness. You heard a click; the door having been locked and you grew confused.

“Mando?”

You heard the tell-tale hiss of his helmet and before you could say anything else, his lips were on yours. He was hungry and dominating and you gasped. His tongue slipped into your mouth and there was nothing you could do, wanted to do, except kiss him back, trying reciprocate somehow how he made you feel at that moment.

Your entire body was on fire as your heart screamed in elation. _Finally, finally, finally!_

His gloved hands were warm on your skin as he held you by the waist and pushed you back against the cool wall. Your lips were sliding against each other, your tongues dancing, licking, tasting each other.

When you pulled away from him, your breath came in quick pants. You could feel his forehead against yours, his thumbs rubbing the spot on your waist he had squeezed a little too tightly. “Kriff,” he cursed, “That’s not how I wanted it to go.”

You giggled, kissing the corner of his mouth, “Then how did you want it to go?”

“I wanted to kiss you somewhere special, woo you,” his lips wandered down your neck and you bit your lip to supress an embarrassingly loud moan. For a man whose face was covered most of the time by a helmet he was an incredibly good kisser. Your hands buried themselves in his hair. It was soft and you could feel it curling towards the ends. You imagined it to be dark and stars you hoped that one day you would be able to see it.

“Mando –“

“Din,” he suddenly interrupted you, his lips brushing your ears, “Call me Din, sweetheart.”

“Din,” you repeated quietly. Your heart swelled with knowing his name – his _real_ name. It meant more than any kiss could ever express. He had told you his name. Something he kept secret from almost everyone and you felt tears of emotion collecting at the corner of your eyes.

His hands came up to softly frame your face and he pressed his lips against yours again. This kiss was softer, gentler, but it conveyed so much emotion you felt like your heart would explode at any moment.

Soon the kisses turned heated again as you start to make out like a couple of teenagers. One of his hands hooked your knee across his hip and you start nipping at the underside of his jaw. You could spend hours like this, just in his arms with his lips on your skin and you exploring all the spots you had secretly wondered about.

 _Thank the Maker for the mission_ , it crossed your mind and you froze. Mando hummed against your skin, peppering kisses along your neck, “What is it, cyare?”

“What of the bounty?” you gasped in the dark and he chuckled.

“Cara got him just before we went to the dancefloor,” he admitted sheepishly, “I just needed to – needed to get you alone for a moment.”

He had planned this, it occurred to you with a smile. He _wanted_ to spend time with you and so he prolonged the mission a little more than necessary. Your heart skipped a beat at the thought and you hummed, gently tugging him closer by his hair. “So how much time do we have left?”

“As much time as you want, mesh’la,” you could feel his smile against your lips and you grinned, tightening your leg around him.

“That sounds _perfect_.”

A few minutes later you reluctantly let go of one another. You could hear him put his helmet back on and the doors opened. “It is a panic room,” he divulged, “The safest room in the club – it suited our purposes.”

You grinned and smoothed your hair and the fabric of your dress whose hem had shifted. He left the club with his arm around your waist, his thumb rubbing that one spot that made you tingle all over. The bouncers did not even look twice when you left the club and you were grateful since you were sure that you looked an absolute mess.

No words were spoken on your way back to the ship but it was not an uncomfortable silence. It was the kind of silence where both of you were in your own minds, content to just let the other person think. You still blushed when you thought about the way his lips had felt on yours.

Cara greeted you with the child in her arms, both of them grinning from ear to ear. She looked pointedly at your swollen lips and seemed very pleased with herself. The child cooed excitedly when it saw the both of you and Din let go of you to pick him up.

You followed him to see if the little one was well. Cara watched as both of you fussed over the child in Din’s arms and cleared her throat, “Took quite a while for you two to get here.”

Din’s hand brushed your back, out of her sight, “We took the long way ‘round.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come say hello over on tumblr if you want! @maybege


	6. Part 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After your kiss, everything changed and stayed the same. Now, Din takes you to see the sparks you have been wishing for for so long.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, what a ride this has been – and a fun one too! Thank you all so very much for your support and comments over the last few weeks, they have meant so much to me. Saying goodbye to this story has been really hard for me and I think you can see that in the word count – there was just so much more to tell but I am happy with where it is now. (However, I might want to write an explicit piece for this universe just cause things got a little more heated in this chapter than usual). As always feedback, comments and/or reblogs are greatly appreciated! I am so curious to see if you liked the ending and what you thought of the series in general.
> 
> Warnings: THIS IS JUST FLUFF, Y’ALL HEAR ME?! FLUFFY FLUFF FLUFF, also, there is a little bit of sexual tension in this chapter and I changed Mandalorian customs a teensy tiny bit

The days that followed your kiss in the club were exhilarating, to say the least.

It was obvious that Cara knew that something was up. She kept making comments about how good the two of you looked with the child (“A family suits you, Mando,” she had teased when both of you were standing near the crib) and found excuse after excuse for why she had to leave the two of you alone somewhere.

Secretly, you were grateful for her enabling the alone time between you and Din.

Because it seemed that neither of you was quite ready to show it openly yet. To admit that there was something going on. Although you probably failed spectacularly at sneaking around. But it did not matter of how close a call it had been, Cara never once asked questions about why you and Din suddenly jumped apart from each other.

The longer it went on the more you suspected that she had planned this all along.

And her plan had more than succeeded.

Wherever you went on the ship, you could feel Din’s eyes on you and more often than not, he followed you into the nooks and hallways of the Crest. Gloved hands would brush your wrists, your waist your back and one time he had felt particularly adventurous and crowded you into a tiny nook and kissed you breathless in the pitch dark.

Would it be nice to finally show affection public? Sure. But at the same time, you wanted to enjoy whatever it was that you two had just for yourself, just for a little while longer and Din thought the same apparently.

He also talked more, you noticed. Not only with the kid but with you and Cara as well. He still was not the chattiest person in the galaxy but his answers were longer sometimes and in the dark and quiet of the ship you could hear him whisper stories to his son about his adventures years ago and it warmed your heart.

Getting time alone – _quality_ time alone – was hard. The Razor Crest was not a small ship but with four people living on it, one of them being a hyperactive toddler who could not bear to be separated from his father for more than a few minutes, it got more and more difficult – especially if you wanted to keep it to yourself.

A whole week had passed without even one minute of just Din and you having some time to yourself – and while it did not kill you, it _felt_ like it nearly did. Laying in the bunk next to a slightly snoring Cara, you tossed and turned. You wanted to see him, to talk to him, to kiss him again but would it be too risky? Could you really just steal out of your bed and into his? And what if he was asleep, would you really want to wake him?

The decision was made for you as you heard a cry from the cargo hold. The child. Evidently, he had had a nightmare and a pretty bad one too from the sounds of it. You rose up, not too concerned about waking Cara since she could sleep through a hailstorm and she did not even stir as the doors of your bunk swished open and you stepped into the dark and cold room.

The hull was completely dark before you but as your eyes adjusted to the non-existent brightness you could make out some rough shapes. The child’s cries had softened into hiccups and the occasional whimper and you saw a figure by the pram. It was Din. You heard him shushing the little one, the sound oddly static through his helmet, and as you got closer you could see him cradling the toddler to his chest.

He was mumbling things to his child, too quiet for you to determine whether it was basic or Mando’a.

“Din?”

“See, there she is,” he cooed to the toddler, “Come here, cyare, I think he likes your voice.”

Carefully, you treaded through the dark room, holding out your hands before you to prevent from walking into anything. You were too focused on the floor and possible obstacles that you did not notice when you had reached your destination. It was only when your hands touched bare skin that you hesitated. Your fingertips flexed, wanting to feel more of the warmth when you realized that it was Din and he was shirtless. Oh, by the stars, you really could not catch a break.

Your ears got hot but your hands remained on what you determined to be his chest, slowly stepping closer, rubbing your hand down his arm to where he was holding the baby. A little coo sounded from the bundle as you tenderly brushed over his wrinkly forehead.

Din shifted, one arm wrapping around your waist and pulling you closer as the other gently handed you the child. Your arms went up to curl around him, relishing in the little bundle of warmth in the cold air around you.

“What’s up, little one?” you asked him, gently rocking him from side to side, “Did you have a bad dream?”

The child whimpered in response, burying its little face in your neck and the sound broke your heart. He was so small and had already experienced so much danger for such a little creature.

You could still feel Din by your side, his large body sending off the heat that you craved. You took a step closer to him and he got the hint. His arms went around you and the child, pulling both of you into his chest. With the child now calmed down, you allowed yourself to rest your head on the man’s chest, the tiredness of your sleepless night now catching up with you.

His hand was warm on your back, rubbing gentle circles into your skin. You could feel the side of his helmet resting on your head, looking down at you and the child and it made you feel a different kind of warmth.

After a while, he shifted, “I – I think he is asleep.”

You hummed only, your eyes still closed against him. It was oddly comfortable, standing like this, and you were sure that if you were given enough time you would be able to fall asleep just like that.

“Cyare, love, did you hear me?”

“Just a little longer,” you murmured into his skin, pressing the child closer to your chest, “Missed being close to you.”

He grew silent then and you could almost hear the wheels turning in his head. “I missed you too,” he finally admitted into the dark and you smiled. It was one thing _knowing_ that both you were yearning for each other but him _saying_ that – that was another kind of rush entirely.

He shifted away from you and his hands coaxed the child out of your arms. You heard him put the toddler down, the lid of the pod closing shut. Then, his hands took hold of yours, pulling you through the room, “Come on, you need to sleep, mesh’la.”

In the fog of your exhaustion, you did not notice that he was leading you back to his bunk, not yours, until you were standing right in front of it.

“Only if you want to,” he said quietly as if there was ever a day when you did not want to fall asleep in his arms.

You were too tired to say anything, so you just squeezed his hand and started to crawl into the bed. You heard him shuffle in the dark behind you and the now familiar hiss of his helmet. Knowing that he was without his usual barrier made your shoulders relax. From behind, he gently grasped your hips and you let him move around until the both of you were comfortable in the small space.

You ended up on top of him again, your legs splayed over his hips and your head resting on his chest. His hands were on your back, tracing patterns on your shirt that slowly lulled you to sleep but also woke you up at the same time. This was the first time you had time together like this since the club and you wanted to make the most of it even if it meant that you would have to stay awake all night.

“Is – is this comfortable for you?” he asked, sounding shy and unsure and you smiled. You supported yourself on his chest to lean up and kiss him softly. He reciprocated immediately, eager to get his lips on yours and it made you giddy.

“Very,” you replied, a little breathless as his kisses wandered down your chin to your neck, “It has been way too long since we had this.”

His lips pulled away from your neck and you felt the loss almost too harshly. “I don’t want you to think that I am ashamed of you,” he clarified slowly, “It’s just that – I don’t often have this and I want –“

“I want to keep it for myself too,” you assured him quietly, “just for a little while longer.”

You could feel his hum of appreciation in your chest as his lips descended on your throat again, lightly sucking on your pulse point, “I am so lucky to have met you in that bar.”

“You mean I was lucky,” you corrected him with a giggle. In the dark, you could not see him but you could feel his smile against your neck, a hint of teeth beneath your ear. “I don’t want to imagine what Xaral would have done – where I would be now if it had not been for you,” you added quietly as an afterthought, voice trailing off into thoughts of a darker future that you could have had.

“I don’t want to imagine it either,” he grumbled, his hand on your back drawing you even closer to him. You dragged your nose down his throat to his collarbone, breathing in deeply and enjoying the closeness to him. “Have I ever told you that you smell nice?”

His chest shook with laughter underneath you, “No, and you would be the first to note that about me, cyar’ika.”

“Well, but it is true,” you stated defiantly, dragging yourself up until you were able to kiss him in the dark. There was a little more fumbling involved because you could not see him. Din was better at it than you, his lips surer on yours, hands finding their way into your hair and to your waist. He was more used to living in the dark, you thought. And then you did not think anymore at all.

Din pulled your lower lip between his teeth, eliciting a gasp from you. He really was an expert kisser. His tongue brushed over the seam of your lips again, asking for entrance which you granted without a second thought. As your tongues mingled, his body beneath you shifted, turning you so that you were the one laying underneath him.

He rested his weight on his forearms beside your head, dipping his head down to kiss you once more. You decided that you could spend hours kissing this man, just enjoying his caresses on your skin and loving him in return.

The slats of the bunk dug into your back and you winced. Din froze, turning you so quick you felt like the world turned upside down when all he did was put you on top of him again. You wondered how he could lie like this, with your weight on top of him, and how the slats did not hurt his back. Then again, he had been sleeping on this monstrosity for years already, maybe he had gotten used to it?

“I am sorry, I know I cannot offer much of the comforts of your home,” he whispered, his hands rubbing the spot where he suspected your injury to be (and he was right). The pain in his voice made you swallow back your own sadness. You did not want him to feel bad just because you were overly sensitive. You did not want him to feel inadequate because of you.

But before you could try and reassure him, he continued. “When the next payment comes in I will see if I can get you a real mattress,” he decided.

It did not escape you that he said he would get the mattress for _you_. He would get a mattress. In his bed. For you. The implication was clear and your excitement grew. Thankful for the dark hiding your blush you cupped your cheek in his hand, “You would really do that?”

“I want you to be comfortable,” he replied and grew silent as he too realized what his words had implied, “I mean – if you ever want to sleep here.”

You giggled at his antics and nuzzled into his cheek, pressing a kiss there, “I would like that very much, Din. And I am honoured that you would make that purchase for me.”

His arms slung around you, cradling you to him and before you fell asleep you heard him mumble, “I would do anything for you.”

The next morning, Cara did not say anything about having to wake up alone.

*

A few days later, Cara left on a solo mission.

“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” she said with a twinkle in her eyes and you blushed.

With her grinning at you like that you were almost sure that she knew something was up between the two of you. But now was not the time to have that conversation and as you watched her strut down the ramp, blaster on her hip, you promised yourself you would tell her the next time you saw her.

You had landed the ship at a spaceport to drop Cara off but it was also a good place to recharge on fuel and a few other things and so Din had decided to stay a few hours longer.

He seemed to be particularly excited to have you all to himself and you did not feel any different. You would be able to be close to him constantly for the foreseeable future. No more hiding in dark corridors, now you could sleep in his bunk any night you wished to.

Which meant every night, really.

But not before he got a few things done. You watched as he packed a bag for himself, selecting a blaster from his weapon’s locker.

“What will you be doing?” you asked nonchalantly leaning against the doorway to the kitchen, your arms crossed over your chest.

“Getting some supplies, mostly, doing some work on the ship as long as it is stationed here,” he explained, “It should not take more than a few hours and then we can be on our way. We will rendezvous with Cara back here in a few weeks.”

You nodded, a little sad that you could not start the little road trip right away and Din noticed. Because he always did. Damn him. “I promise, it will be worth the wait,” he murmured, stepping closer to you and bumping his forehead against yours.

The gesture was so intimate, the way his hand lightly touched your hip, making sure you stayed close for a while as you both enjoyed the contact that you no longer needed to hide.

“Promise you will be here for dinner?”

“Promise.”

You smiled as he squeezed your hip and left the ship.

The toddler was excited too, running around in circles, exploring all the shady corners as if he had been left roaming on the ship for the first time. You spent the day with the child, colouring some special paper, playing an involuntary game of hide and seek and cooking a homemade dinner. The baby helped you even, standing next to you as you cut up some fruit and occasionally snuck him a little bite.

When Din came home – because that was what the Razor Crest was now, _home_ – it was with a rolled up … thing over his shoulders. The baby tilted its head curiously at you but you could only shrug your shoulders. Had he gotten a rug?

He strutted to his bunk while you were still busy in the kitchenette, not entirely sure what it was that he was doing. When the food was ready you set it on the country, hopefully out of reach for the little one, and went to see what he was doing.

It turned out the rug was not a rug after all.

It was a mattress.

And a thick one too from the looks of it. It was nestled right onto his bunk, filling out the little room and with Din’s blanket on top, it looked like the most inviting bed you had ever seen.

“What do you think?”

Even through the helmet you could hear how anxious and pleased he was. You, on the other hand, could not hide your excitement. You beamed at him and threw yourself into the bunk. It was a room full of bed now – a dream come true. In your mind, you could see some twinkle lights strung across the ceiling and you hoped that he would let you do it someday.

“It is wonderful, Din!” you laughed as you bounced on the mattress, stretching out your arms until your fingertips reached the walls.

You heard the baby whine, standing at the foot of the bed and wanting to get up as well. With a chuckle, you lifted him up onto the mattress. You watched as big eyes took in the new surroundings happily, focussing on the unusual ‘floor’. He took a few testing steps before unceremoniously plopping down on his belly, arms stretched out and babbling happily as he tried to hug the bed.

The scene before you was so comical that tears streamed down your cheeks from how hard you were laughing. You felt almost overwhelmed with happiness. Din had really done that. He had done this purchase, this one thing that he knew would make you more comfortable. You were worth it for him.

The Mandalorian stood a few steps away, his hands resting on his belt as he tilted his head at the both of you.

“He likes it,” you managed to say through a few giggles, gesturing towards the baby that was now climbing into your lap. You felt almost bad for how you were occupying his bunk but somehow you had the feeling that Din did not mind.

(And he did not. Seeing you and his child in his bunk, all made up for the two of you, made him wish for the first time in years that he could take his helmet off and take in the sight with real colours and make you see his smile. His heart was swelling in his chest with love. This was how it was supposed to be. The one room that had been his makeshift sanctuary over the years was now yours and the child’s as well. You were his family.)

*

Dinner was a quiet affair.

Din had bought some frogs fresh from the market, a treat for the green toddler who – you were sure – would grow up so spoiled and loved from his father. You had wanted to cook them first, heat them up at least but the child had grabbed them in its tiny hands and devoured them whole much to your shock and Din’s amusement.

“Guess we’ll have to teach him table manners soon, mesh’la,” Din had chuckled, leaning against the counter and casually watching you prepare a ration for him and one for you. Your movements halted as your thoughts circled around the sentence, again and again, working through the excitement of hearing him say something like this.

Guess we’ll have to teach him table manners, he had said.

“We?”

He was silent for a while as if only now hearing the words he had spoken. For a moment you were afraid that he might take it back. Because you wanted this. You cared for the little one, loved him dearly, and he was Din’s son and you loved Din and you loved them together and you wanted to be a part of the child’s life as much as you were a part of Din’s.

“We,” he confirmed finally, nodding slowly which reaching his hand out to your hip. He did that a lot these days, touching your hip, rubbing your hipbone in soothing circles. It had become such a casual touch for him, almost like placing his hand on the small of your back, and it always made you feel warm and fuzzy all over.

Although it was just the two of you here, it felt like some sort of claim. He was telling you and he was telling himself that what the two of you had was here to stay.

Din had volunteered to get the child into bed and left you to get ready for your first night’s sleep on the brand-new addition on the Razor Crest. Giddy with excitement you changed into your nightdress in yours and Cara’s room and hurried on bare feet to his bunk. The door was open and in a gust of childish enthusiasm you threw yourself onto the bed, your body bouncing off the softness and you giggled.

“Don’t break the bed yet, mesh’la,” came a voice from behind you and you turned to see him standing at the edge of his bunk, the hull behind him dark.

“It is so soft, though,” you sighed as you sank back into the mattress, “Come on, you have not tried it out yet, have you?”

He shook his head, the dim light of the bunk catching on his helmet, as he started to undress before you. It was surprisingly intimate, watching him work on the buckles of his armour, taking it off piece by piece.

“May I?” you asked, standing on your knees so you were roughly the same height. His hands paused on his shoulder pauldron and the visor looked up to you.

“Do you really want to, mesh’la?”

You nodded quietly.

Slowly he showed you each step he took to loosen the shoulder pauldron. Dutifully you nodded along, taking in his instructions and asking him to show you something again when you did not quite catch it. Like you had suspected, he was a patient teacher and although it had taken him longer than usual you were confident that you would manage to repeat the motions.

When he had gotten one pauldron off his body, it was your turn. You repeated the steps he had shown you. There was much more fumbling involved and you took way longer than he did but by the end, you got the pauldron loose and there was a triumphant grin on your face.

“Very good,” he praised you softly, “Now on to the other ones.”

He showed you how to remove every single piece of armour on his torso before he deemed it enough for the night. You wanted to protest, still curious to see how the rest of the armour worked, but when he pulled his shirt over his helmet any plausible arguments you might have had disappeared into thin air.

He was so close, so _so_ close. In the light you could see his muscles and even some of his scars and how could one man be so beautiful? Breathless with delight, you tentatively lay your hand above his heart, feeling his body heart and noticing how his heart thumped against his chest. He was as nervous as you were and it made you even giddier.

When he pushed some buttons on his vambrace the lights shut off, cloaking you into complete darkness. You gasped in surprise but before you could say anything there was a pair of familiar lips on yours as his body pushed you down onto the bed.

You followed his lead willingly, reciprocating the kiss as much as you could with him caging you in. He changed between licking, nipping and biting at your skin and you could hardly fathom if gravity was a real concept before he started speaking again.

“Stars, how I have missed this,” he groaned against you, mouth wandering to your collarbone as you offered your neck to him. Rough hands wandered up and down your waist until he found that spot on your hip again that he kept circling with his thumbs. You tugged at his hair, enjoying the growl that sent through him and wanting to hear him do it again.

In a swift motion, he turned you over so he was the one lying on his back and this time the groan had a different origin.

“Kriff, it really _is_ soft,” he muttered and you laughed at how utterly surprised he sounded. With a new wave of courage and desire, you threw your leg over his hip, moving up to straddle him and immediately his hands came to rest on your upper thighs. “Almost as soft as your skin, mesh’la,” he whispered reverently.

Like a glacier his hands wandered from your thighs upwards, working their way under your nightdress. You knew he was purposefully moving slow, to make sure that you were comfortable with it, waiting for you to tell him to stop. But you did not and he grunted when he came up to your waist, up to your breast only to find that you were not wearing a bra. His whole body stiffened and you bit your lip to not giggle at how comical he looked even when you could not see his face.

But in a surprising turn of events, his hands continued their journey to your back, gently pushing you to lay down. It ended up with you laying chest to chest on him, mouths entwined in languid kisses as his hands traced patterns on your back. His tongue dipped inside you almost lazily as your hands came up to play with the light scruff on his cheek.

“We have all the time in the world,” he stated, absolutely content and smug and you smiled at how happy it made you.

“That we do.”

*

You were sitting in the kitchenette, the child wandering along the countertops when a holo call from Cara came in. It had been a few days since you had last heard from her and so the excitement was big when Din called you and the child up to the cockpit.

Her image was grainy but it was hard to miss the big smile on her face when she spotted you. Din vacated his seat on the plot’s chair for you and the child to sit in, standing behind you instead, his hand on your shoulder.

“How are you?” you asked excitedly, “Are you well? How is the mission going? Are you hurt?”

The child babbled as if repeating your questions and stretched its hands out to the blueish image of her before him.

“It’s,” she sighed, “It’s actually much better than I thought it would be.” She went on to talk about her mission, how she had met some old acquaintances and how exciting everything was. It made you smile to see her so invested, so happy with her life, especially when she got the chance to talk about some modified weapons she got to try out.

“It sounds like you are having a good time,” Din joked behind you, his hand playing with the hairs on the nape of your neck.

Cara sighed again, her shoulder falling a little as if bracing herself for what she was about to say next. “Listen, Mando, Y/N, kid, after our rendezvous, I have decided to do my own thing again, back on Sorgan.”

Your heart stood still.

“I would appreciate it if the offer for a lift still stands,” she mumbled and you only heard Din affirming the option behind you.

Technically, you knew that it had never meant to be permanent. That Cara had only ever helped him out. Still, it made you thoughtful and unbelievably sad. What would your life look like without Cara? Would you ever get to see her as often as you wanted to?

“Don’t be sad, please,” she pleaded, her face showing that it was not easy for her too, “We will see each other when you give me a lift to Sorgan and besides,” she grinned, “Mando will need my help anyway, we will see each other sooner than you think.”

Behind you, Din snorted, a static sound coming through his helmet. But he did not contradict her. It was probably his own strange way of admitting that he would miss his friend.

They kept talking about … things but you did not quite listen. Their words just went over your head as you slowly tried to process what your life would look like without Cara. The baby was still in your lap, occasionally wriggling and babbling and you patted its head absentmindedly.

Even when Cara’s picture disappeared from the holo your gaze was still lost in the distance of the stars.

“Are you alright, cyare?” Din’s hands disappeared from your shoulder as he came around to kneel in front of you, “You seem distracted.”

You sighed, refocussing your eyes and smiling at him, “I’m sorry, Din, I was just in my head for a bit.”

“I know it must be hard for you,” he whispered, taking your hand in his, his thumb rubbing over your knuckles, “She is your friend and she is mine too. But I promise it will be alright, we will be alright.”

A sad smile formed on your lips at his words. For a man of so little words, he knew exactly what to say when you were feeling down. He was right. Cara was your friend. And it would be hard. But ultimately, everything would be alright.

You knew that with Din and his peculiar child by your side, everything would be alright.

*

A few weeks later you were sitting in the cockpit with the child in your lap. Din was busy steering the Razor Crest slowly through an asteroid field and in the meantime the child was entertaining you by playing with his stuffed animal, making animated chirping noises.

You thought that he might actually be trying to imitate some of the sounds you had heard on the last planet. While Din had hunted for a bounty, you and the child had marvelled at some large butterflies through the windows of the cockpit who had made some strange mooing sounds. The child had been particularly fascinated by them, talking at them as if they understood what he was trying to say.

Your mind was still on Cara. She had kept in contact regularly, trying to catch up while you did your best to ignore the fact that soon you would have to say goodbye to her. You understood where she was coming from, understood that her life was not as bound to Mando and your group as yours was. She had had a career before and she would have one now. There were risks that she could now take without being attached to the kid or watching her back every move she took. 

Do you even remember what it was like not wondering about the kid? A voice called in your head, pulling you into memories of your family and your home planet. The truth was, you didn’t. You did not remember what it was like before you had joined them. It seemed nigh impossible in your head to ever not worry about the little one, to not think about Din and Cara and about your life together on the Crest.

“What are you thinking about?”

Din’s voice pulled you out of your reverie, his hand moving to close over yours.

“Just thinking,” you replied, “About Cara and everything, you know.”

He squeezed your hand gently and you blushed at how familiarly he was touching you now.

“Who would have thought that this how we would end up?” you asked, bouncing the little one in your arms, “When I first saw you at the cantina I thought you would bring trouble.”

“I did, though, didn’t I?”

“No, you saved me from trouble – twice.”

Din hummed, his thumb rubbing over your knuckles as it was now his turn to be lost in thought. With the ship slowly passing through the asteroid fields the cockpit was especially quiet and you took the chance to gaze at his profile.

From your kisses in the dark, your hands exploring his skin every chance you got, you knew that he had a bit of scruff on his cheeks, that his hair was soft and curled at the end and that his nose was a little hooked. Yet it was hard to imagine a real face beneath the helmet. And did you even want to imagine what he looked like? Did you really need to? Because that right there with the child in your arms and Din by your side was enough to make you happy. You did not need to see his face to know that you loved him.

Love.

That was a big word.

But when the child cooed at you, pressing the stuffie insistently into your chest to get your attention and Din chuckled lowly beside you, you knew that it was the right word to describe what you were feeling.

“So where will you be taking us now, Din?” you asked him teasingly. He took his hand back to the dashboard, switching on the autopilot from the looks of it and turned his chair to you. It was the last stop before you were supposed to pick up Cara at your rendezvous pint and get her back to Sorgan and he had steadfastly refused to tell you where you were going.

“I told you, cyar’ika,” he said, his voice amused, “it is a surprise.”

You pouted and leant back in the chair. But once Din had decided on something he would not easily change his mind and if you were honest – a surprise sounded nice, especially if Din had planned it for you. He did not really seem like the type to go out on a limb and plan surprises, so you felt honoured and special that he would do it for you.

Instead, you decided to change the topic, “What does that mean anyway – cyar’ika?”

“It means beloved.”

That made you pause.

Not necessarily because it surprised you – although it still made your heart jump in your chest to know that that was what he thought of you – but because he said it so tenderly it made your heart ache. In moments like these, you were sure that he might love you too.

You glanced over at him, a smile on your face as you watched him coordinate the ship to your mystery destination.

*

“We have to hurry, I do not want you to miss it.”

The planet he had taken you to was the tiniest thing you had ever seen and you furrowed your brows as you watched outside the window. What in maker’s name were you supposed to be doing on this planet?

Din was behind you, settling the child into the little pram. There was only one reason why he would not take the child with him on the planet’s surface.

“Is there a bounty here?”

“No there is not,” he answered smoothly, closing the lid over the child and turning to you, “I actually have something to show you. I think you will like it.”

As the ramp opened you were greeted by magnificent golden light so bright against the darkness of the ship you covered your eyes. You felt his hands on your waist, guiding you down the slope and onto the sandy planet ground.

“Just follow my lead, alright?” he whispered into your ear and you nodded, slowly blinking against the brightness. A sleep-cycle seemed to pass quicker here than average because when Din led you to a hill, the sunset was almost completely over by the time you two sat down on the soft grass.

The sky was hued in magnificent colours of yellows to orange to red, hueing the whole landscape into a reddish light. The sun was almost over the horizon already, the dark of the night quickly closing in and you could feel rather than hear Din sigh next to you.

“I wanted to show you all the colours, you would have liked it,” he mumbled, a little disappointed. He shifted so he could wrap an arm around your shoulders, covering you with his cape as well. Without hesitation you snuggled closer to him, enjoying the warmth his cape and proximity provided.

“It is beautiful, Din, thank you for showing it to me,” you whispered, scared to spoil the magical calmness if you spoke your words too loudly.

A few minutes later, the night sky was almost black, glittering with hundreds upon hundreds of starts painting colourful constellations into the sky and you marvelled at them. This was better than any sunset. It was like the two of you were flying between the very stars and constellations themselves, they seemed to be just out of reach. If you stretched your arms out just wide enough your hands would be coloured by stardust.

You were too enraptured by the stars and the swirling pictures in the sky to notice that Din had grown quiet. When you turned to him you saw that his visor was fixed on you. He had all the stars in the sky to look at and he looked at _you_.

“What are you thinking about?”

“You look like – happy,” he cleared his throat, “You look happy.”

“Would you believe me if I said that I am happy?” you smiled at him and he chuckled. You reached up your hand to grab his that was on your shoulders, lacing your fingers together. “Thank you for showing me all this and for taking me here.”

“You deserved it. A real …”

“A real what?”

“A real date,” he finally said. He kept looking at you and you could almost feel his eyes on your skin. His face was so close to you, you could hear his actual voice through the lip of his helmet, unfiltered and real. His other hand came up to cup your cheeks, his thumb brushing over your cheekbone with a feather-light touch that made shivers run down your spine.

“Din …”, you whispered, “I think that I would really like to kiss you,” you blurted out and blushed immediately afterwards. You were not usually so forward and although you were alone now and it was dark, the moon was shining quite strongly. He would not be able to take off his helmet anyway.

As he always did, Din seemed to know exactly what you were thinking as your shoulders deflated.

“There’s a loophole,” he said just as quietly, both of you reverent in the quiet beauty that was this planet, “Close your eyes for me, cyar’ika.”

Your heart thumped in your chest as you did as he had told you. You were a little sad to miss the sight of the stars but it was more than worth it if it meant you got to kiss him again. You could hear the tell-tale hiss of his helmet and then a bare hand covered your eyes for good measure.

You smiled at how soft his skin felt, how it still smelled faintly of the leather of his glove.

“Mesh’la.”

It was his real voice. You should have been used to it by now, having heard it whispered in the dark of the ship, ghosting over your skin and making you shiver, but it still always made your breath catch in your throat. It was its own kind of music to your ears and your heart ached, longing so badly for him to kiss you.

You felt his breath over your lips as his mouth descended upon yours. His lips were chapped and soft and familiar. You leant closer to him, against the hand that was still covering your eyes. With a sigh, your arms come up to touch him. His soft hair was warm from being caged under the helmet all day and you could not help but sift your fingers through it lightly tugging at the curly ends. He rumbled at that and you smiled.

When his tongue brushed over your lower lip you let him in eagerly.

And stars you were _not_ prepared for what followed.

Sparks were reignited behind your eyelids as Din’s hands framed your face, slowly pushing you backwards until you were lying on the soft grass. You made sure to keep your eyes closed although it was not very hard from how his tongue tangled with ours, one leg resting between yours.

Helplessly you tugged on his hair again, unsure where this had come from but not complaining one bit. You could feel his body heat through his clothes and when he bit down on your bottom lip you gasped. “Stars, you are perfect, cyar’ika.”

It was easily the best kiss you had ever had. This was what you had been waiting for. This was where you were meant to be.

“This is how I wanted it to be,” he murmured against your lips before planting kisses down your neck, “Wanted to show you I could care for you, that I could make you happy and then – then kiss you.”

You giggled as his facial hair tickled the soft skin under your ear, “I can live with that.”

“Will you stay with me – with us? When Cara leaves will you – will you stay?”

His breath was hot on your neck and you could feel his heart thumping in his chest against yours. The words echoed in your head. He wanted you to stay. He wanted you to stay with him.

“Yes,” you breathed, your lips finding his in another soft kiss, “Yes, I will stay.”

And here in Din’s arms, you never wanted to be anywhere else.

*

Cara left you on Sorgan.

It was not as light-hearted a farewell as you all had hoped for but how could you be light-hearted when one of your closest friends was leaving for an indefinite amount of time? The child’s ears drooped low as he realized that you would leave without Cara and a helpless chirp had left him.

It broke your heart.

You watched from the ramp how Cara disappeared into the cantina, her rucksack thrown over her shoulder and two blasters on her hip. Din was the first to move back into the belly of the ship, pushing some buttons on the control panel so the ramp started to close.

With the child on your hip, you followed him inside and up into the cockpit. “It’s just us now,” he stated, punching in the new coordinates. Although he would not admit it aloud you knew that he would miss her and that saying goodbye to her was hard for him. You harboured the suspicion that saying goodbye was not something he often did – at least not to people who meant something to him.

At the same time, this felt like a new beginning.

Din had asked you to stay with him and the child. He had asked you to _stay_ with him. You knew that it was a big deal, that he had now voiced out loud the thing that both of you had just silently thought so far: whatever the two of you had, it was here to stay. You were here to stay and to build a life with him and it made you so incredibly happy.

“It’s just us,” you confirmed softly, settling down on the co-pilot's seat, watching him putting in the route into the system. The child on your lap looked at both of you curiously.

You read the strange name of the planet aloud, “Is that where the next bounty is?”

“No, I –“ he stopped talking, fiddling with something on his armour, “I am taking you on a vacation.”

The child made some questioning burbling sounds as if to echo him. At least you were not the only one confused by Din’s explanation. “But we just got from one,” you said, “You don’t have to do this because of me, Din, if you want to take on a bounty we can –“

“It is only for a day, don’t worry, mesh’la,” he replied, clearly amused at your immediate worry, “They have a festival there and I think you might like it.”

The fact that he did this because he wanted to do something nice for you made your heart beat faster in your chest. You thought that him showing you the sunset had already been something special, and it was, and he still took the time and effort for a vacation? Because he thought you might like it?

You smiled at him, hoping that he could see the genuine thankfulness that was in your eyes. The baby cooed, cuddling into your chest and deciding that now it was the perfect time for an extended afternoon nap. Din pushed the buttons and levers and as the planet’s surface grew smaller and smaller you swallowed back a few tears.

“She will be fine,” he assured you quietly, the Razor Crest now breaching the atmosphere, and he reached over to you, “We will be fine.”

*

The planet he flew you to was full of beaches and seas and water. You had never seen so much water in your life and the way it reflected the light of the sun caught you and the child’s eyes before Din had even landed. It was almost tropical in a way and it made you excited. You could spot the festivities even from far away and as the ramp lowered you could not wait to see what Din wanted to show you.

The child was excited in your arms as Din grabbed a bag that he had seemed to pack before. Its big ears perked up, cooing excitedly as it saw all the happy people outside. The atmosphere was incredible and as you left the spaceport, Din by your side and the baby in your arms, you stepped right into the markets.

There were colourful lights and drapes everywhere, people were huddling around the different stands. There were fruits, souvenirs, anything and everything you could ever imagine and more than once did you slow your step to take a closer look at some of the offered wares.

“Let me take him, mesh’la,” Din said from behind you. It was the first time he had spoken since you left the ship, having you let explore the market to your heart’s content. “I can distract him while you look at the dresses.”

Thankful for the offer, you handed him the child whose eyes lit up at being in its father’s arms again. Now having both your hands free, you touched the fabric of one of the breezy dresses on the stand. The sun beat on your skin and you could feel that your usual clothes might be too warm for you to be comfortable for longer periods of time. You could hardly fathom how Din felt in his full-on armour.

You contemplated the fabric for a while before you decided to treat yourself. Din was taking you out on a vacation, this was the first stop after Cara had left and the dress was beautiful. Who knew, maybe you could impress Din with it?

From some of the credits that constituted your pay, you bought the dress, proudly showing it to Din who tilted his head as a sign of agreement.

You continued exploring the markets, Din always by your side. He had kept the child in his arms when you had offered to take him from him but even laden with the toddler and bag on his shoulder, his hand found its way to your back, gently keeping you to him while you roamed the different streets.

This was something you could get used to, the way he was so openly affectionate to you now. As if he could not keep his hands off you for just a second too long and not only did it make you feel wanted, you were also in the same predicament. You could not stand to be away from him, you wanted to take every chance you had to enjoy these precious minutes where it was just the three of you and no bounties Din had to worry about.

Your little group stopped at a street music display. You did not know the language they were saying or what kind of instruments they were playing but it sounded lively and fun and some children danced, laughing and giggling as they were jumping around. For a moment you swore you actually saw him bouncing the child in the rhythm of the music but it stopped as soon as you saw it, so maybe it was just a product of your imagination.

The biggest surprise of the evening was when Din checked you into a hotel.

An actual hotel.

Your eyes bulged at seeing how nice it was. It was not luxurious by any means but it was also not seedy looking. No, it was clean and the rooms were nice and the people owning it were friendly. They did not even bat an eye at the weird image you must deliver. In fact, they had only stated that a family suite was available “with lots of toys for the little one and space to run around” and Din had taken it without a word of discussion.

You still could not believe it when you actually entered the room. It was bright and airy, there were lots of windows on one side, opening up to the plaza where the festival was taking place. On the horizon, you spotted the ocean and the way the water glittered.

There was a big bed in the middle of the room, looking softer than anything you had ever seen. Your wart warmed at seeing how the child immediately climbed up into the bed, hugging a small pillow. Din chuckled as he set the bag down, “Seems like someone is already laying claim on the sleeping arrangements.”

Your grinned, turning back to watch the people in the plaza, marvelling at the architecture and the landscape of the planet. How had you never heard of it?

Din took your silence as something else entirely as he approached you. “I hope it is alright that I booked a room with one bed,” he said as if it occurred to him only now how that must look, “I can sleep on the floor if it makes you uncomfortable.”

You turned around to face him, a warm smile on your lips as your hands landed on his shoulders. “Din, we share the tiniest bunk on the ship, what makes you think I would not sleep in the same bed?”

He shifted, his hands coming to grasp your waist, pulling you closer to him, “I just don’t want to make you feel uncomfortable.”

“With you?” you tease him and press your chest flush to his, your heart thumping against your chest in excitement, “I’d never feel uncomfortable.”

He laughed at that, the relief clear even through his helmet. “Well then I am glad, cyar’ika,” he murmured and touched his forehead to yours. As if on their own accord, your eyes closed, enjoying the silence in the room and his closeness. Just a little bit of peace. And a little bit of rest.

“It has been a long day,” he murmured, pulling away from you, “Why don’t you get comfortable and rest and I will get us some dinner?”

“My, my, Din, what has happened that you want to spoil us so?” you teased him, wishing you could kiss him but settling on just taking his hand in yours, brushing your thumb over his knuckles.

Din stiffened at your words. “Nothing special,” he replied quickly, already on his way out, “I will be back soon. Do not open the door for anyone.”

The door closed behind him and the child looked up from the bed. As your eyes fell onto him you spotted the feather surrounding the little green creature and the suspiciously flat pillowcase in its hands. When it noticed that it had been discovered, its lips trembled, eyes doubling in size in an attempt to make you feel sorry for him.

You sighed, “I guess, we’ll all share one pillow tonight?”

*

When Din came back you and the child ate dinner first before disappearing into the bathroom to let Din eat dinner in peace. You took the chance to give the baby a bath. And stars, did the little one enjoy his bath because afterwards your clothes were _soaked_.

You changed into the breezy dress that you had just bought, immediately relieved from the heat in the air. Din undressed enough to just be in his track pants, his chest bare for you to see in the evening light. You really had to take a deep breath to not just pounce at him right then and there.

The only downside of this wonderful hotel room was that it was too bright. With the wide windows and the breezy curtains, there was nothing block out any light and so Din had to keep on his helmet. He said that he did not mind but you wanted to kiss him so badly you almost suggested returning to the Razor Crest just to get him close like that.

The warm breeze through the windows did wonders to tire the little one out and Din gently rocked him to sleep in his arms. All the while you sat on the bed, cross-legged and utterly fascinated by Din cradling his child to his naked chest, handling him so gently and soothing him to sleep.

Once the child was settled in his little pod, you had grown tired as well, crawling under the covers and watching as Din made his way over to you.

“I will wake you tonight,” he informed you in a whisper, careful not to wake his child, “There is something I want to show you.”

You nodded with a yawn and snuggled closer to his chest, too tired to reply. With his arms around you, you finally got some much-needed sleep.

*

“Cyare.”

You hummed, squeezing your eyes shut because you wanted to _sleep for star’s sake_.

But your pillow kept moving and there were fingers in your hair, gently running through it.

“Cyare, you need to wake up, it is starting.”

“How late is it?”

“Very late,” he chuckled, gently sitting up and taking you with him, “But you will love it, I swear. Come on.”

Still with eyes closed, you let him lead you out of bed and towards the windows. You were tired but it was important to Din. You could sacrifice a few minutes of precious sleep for him.

He stood behind you, wrapping his arms around you and you were thankful for the opportunity to rest your back against his chest because standing on your own seemed way too exhausting at the moment.

When you heard chatter and music and voices, you opened your eyes. Had he not said that it was late? And he had been right. The sky was completely dark but the plaza below seemed even busier than just a few hours before.

You wanted to ask Din what exactly you were waiting for when you heard a hissing sound. A hush fell over the crowd immediately as you tried to spot whatever was making that unfamiliar voice.

And then colour erupted across the sky, lighting everything up for the blink of a moment.

The people cheered and more and more fireworks illuminated the night sky. There were colours and patterns of all kind, it was nothing like you had ever seen before. It was by far the most beautiful thing you had ever seen and that exactly what you told Din, your eyes still transfixed on the lights.

From your window, you had the perfect view of the fireworks and it occurred to you why it had been so important to him to stay at this specific hotel. He had wanted you to have the best view.

Your heart clenched and you wanted to turn around but his hands on your hips kept you facing the windows. “This is why I wanted to take you here,” he explained softly as thousands of sparks hissed in the sky.

“It is what I feel when I am with you, cyar’ika. Remember when we first met? And you told me about sparks and how you wanted to feel them? How everything was just easier with that one person?”

You nodded slowly, your eyes taking in the night sky, wondering where he was going with all of this.

His hands left your hips but you remained rooted to the spot. “Look at them,” he whispered, voice catching on the vocoder, “I did not understand what you meant by that, then. But now I see – _feel_ sparks whenever you touch me and, maker, it’s the most intense I have ever felt. Do you feel that too?”

You nodded eagerly, tears collecting in your eyes. “I do, Din. More than anything I –“, your voice trailed off, unable to voice the intensity of your feelings, to adequately put into words just how loved, how safe, how wanted, he made you feel.

“Turn around, mesh’la.”

You did and when your eyes focussed through your teary vision you were faced with a stranger's face. It took you a second to realize that it was, in fact, not a strange face. It was a face you had known intimately. Just one that you had never seen before.

It was _him_.

Strong hands held his helmet in front of him, almost like a lifeline. He looked absolutely helpless, almost pained, but his eyes were full of love and stars they were the most beautiful brown you had ever seen and his lips and his nose and –

“Din,” you choked out, hand rising to your mouth to hold back a sob, “Your helmet – what? I don’t want to get you into trouble.”

He shifted on his feet and for the first time, you saw how his brows lightly furrowed when he was thinking of something to say. How his eyes fell to the floor as if he was too ashamed to look into your eyes. You wanted to tell him

“You can unveil your face to the people you love – to your family and,” he cleared his throat, “To your spouse.”

Your heart stopped as the words sunk in.

“I love you. I do. And you don’t have to say it back. I know it’s – it’s fast but I need you to know that you are it for me. You are my riduur to the end of my days and I won’t feel what I feel for you for anyone else, ever.”

You were full-on crying now, tears streaming down your cheeks as you laughed from the sheer happiness of it all.

“You are so beautiful, Din,” you sobbed, slinging your arms around him and finally – _finally_ – kissing him again. And stars did the kisses feel so much better now that you knew you could open your eyes any time and see his eyes, his smile.

“You are, mesh’la,” he replied softly, his eyes gazing at you and you never wanted to sleep again. You wanted to spend all your living hours just looking at him, studying his face, the worry line on his forehead, the way his nose was hooked or how his lips looked so, so soft.

“I love you too, Din. And I would very much like to be your – your riduur,” your voice stumbled over the unfamiliar word but your intention was sure. The way his smile brightened up his face was incredible to watch. His rough thumbs came up to brush over your cheekbones as he pressed another kiss to your lips, “I am so, so lucky, cyar’ika.”

You wanted to retort that you were the lucky one. That not only had he saved you the very first time you had met (and the second) but that he brought you the sparks you had always wanted to feel. He had latterly brought you somewhere to see the sparks, your brain shouted and you smiled.

The baby cooed, standing in its little pod and wanting to be picked up. Both your faces turned towards him and when you saw Din’s beaming smile – the first true smile you had seen with your own eyes and not felt on your skin – a few tears collected in the corners of your eyes. He was so beautiful and his face was so expressive. Now that you had seen his face there was no chance you had ever imagined anything different.

With practised movements, he picked up his son and pulled him to his chest before wandering back to you. His eyes were glinting in the low light, the sparks from outside reflecting in his eyes. His arm wrapped around your waist, pulling you into his side and with your hands on his chest you kissed him. It was soft and gentle and warm and made you feel all the things you had always wanted to feel.

His fingers brushed from your waist to your shoulders and into your hair, drawing you closer to him as his teeth nipped at your lower lip. Your breaths mingled in the warm night air and had it not been for the little bundle on his other side, you were sure his tongue would have licked into your mouth.

But the little one wanted attention from his favourite people and he started babbling, gesturing to the fireworks, his ears perking up at the pretty pictures in the sky.

“Was that a flower?” you asked the baby who chirped even more animatedly, confirming that _yes it was a flower and did you see the frog?_ And you laughed.

When you looked up, you saw Din looking down at both of you, his eyes full of emotion he could hardly contain. “Are you alright?” you murmured, your hand cupping his cheeks, because now you could, and turning his head slightly towards you.

“I am perfect, riduur,” he smiled and pressed a kiss to your temple.

Hearing the truth in his words you leant your head on the space between his shoulder and his chest, wrapping one hand around his hip and reaching the other out to the child who immediately started playing with your fingers.

Outside, fireworks erupted into sparks.

But they were nothing compared to the sparks you felt in your heart. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come and say hello over on tumblr! There is a vote on what series I will publish next :) @maybege


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